New Delhi, April 7 Delhi Capitals are hoping for strong performances from their KL Rahul-led top order as they look to maintain their winning momentum against a struggling Gujarat Titans in the IPL here on Wednesday.
Delhi Capitals have been near perfect with their bowling, while 22-year-old Sameer Rizvi has been carrying the bulk of their batting load, having come into form early in the season.
If players like Rahul and others find their rhythm, the Delhi Capitals will become a more formidable team.
Rahul cannot be blamed for his dismissals in the first two innings, and he will eventually find consistency.
Nitish Rana would be feeling more pressure having got the opportunity to bat at number three.
Pathum Nissanka found his range in the last game here, giving him additional confidence to take on the Gujarat Titans' pace attack of Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj in the powerplay.
Having scored his third consecutive IPL fifty (which came last season), Rizvi is in great form. He has always been able to dominate spin bowlers, but he is now also able to adapt against fast bowlers.
The first half of his innings against Mumbai Indians was relatively measured before he went on to score a comfortable win for his team.
Mukesh Kumar has been impressive with the ball, while captain Axar Patel has been effective both in the powerplay and middle overs.
Lungi Ngidi has added depth to the bowling unit, which also features T Natarajan and Indian wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
In contrast, Gujarat Titans are struggling on both fronts.
The Titans have been unable to maintain a strong top order. They should have chased down 205 against Rajasthan Royals comfortably, but the inexperienced middle order could not capitalize on the start provided by Sai Sudharsan.
The middle order comprising Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, and Rahul Tewatia needs to step up under pressure.
Captain Shubman Gill missed the previous game due to a muscle spasm, but stand-in skipper Rashid Khan said he should be fit for their crucial match against Delhi Capitals.
Having lost their first two games, the Titans also need to be more professional in their bowling. Both Siraj and Rabada have been a bit expensive, while Prasidh Krishna has been inconsistent.
On the positive side, Rashid has found his rhythm early in the competition, but their most impressive bowler has been 23-year-old pacer Ashok Sharma.
The Kotla pitch usually offers plenty of runs, but it was not the case in the afternoon game last week, with Mumbai Indians managing only 162. It remains to be seen how it behaves on what is expected to be an unusually cool April evening.
Squads:
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Delhi Capitals: Axar Patel (c), Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Madhav Tiwari, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Tripurana Vijay, David Miller, Ben Duckett, Auqib Nabi Dar, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Prithvi Shaw, Kyle Jamieson, T Natarajan, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Sahil Parakh.
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Anuj Rawat, Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Nishant Sindhu, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Sharma, Jason Holder, Tom Banton, Prithvi Raj Yarra, Luke Wood, Sai Sudharsan, Arshad Khan.
Match starts 7.30 IST.
