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Delhi Daredevils face must-win situation against Hyderabad

Down in the dumps after three successive heavy defeats, a beleaguered Delhi Daredevils have no option but win all their remaining games, starting with the one against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, to salvage some hope of qualifying for the play-offs.

With just two victories out of eight games, Daredevils are languishing at the bottom of the points table and only a miracle performance from here on can seal their place in the knock-out stages of the T20 event. 

It's been a nightmarish return home, as they are yet to register a victory after three matches at Delhi's Feroze Shah Kotla ground. They have only two victories this season and both came in the UAE leg of the tournament.

But what hurt Daredevils badly is the results of their last three encounters on home turf.

They lost by seven wickets to Rajasthan Royals in their first home match before slumping to identical eight-wicket defeats to Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.

 

Belief is something missing in the Delhi players

Psychologically, Daredevils are at their lowest ebb and will be hoping for something extraordinary to turn their fortunes around.

While Delhi's batting was inconsistent in the tournament so far, the patchy and unimpressive performance of their bowlers -- Mohammad Shami, Wayne Parnell, Siddharth Kaul and Shahbaz Nadeem -- hasn't helped the side's cause either. 

The poor form of their star player and captain, Kevin Pietersen, has only added to Delhi's misery.

Pietersen has scored just 62 runs from five innings. Going by his standards, it is definitely not the start Gary Kirsten would have expected from his first coaching assignment with any IPL side. 

Belief, it seems, is something missing in the Delhi players. On Saturday they will look for inspiration from some quarters to avenge the loss to Sunrisers earlier this season.

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Sunrisers will be more confident after beating Rajasthan

Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, will be more confident going into the match, especially after the morale-boosting 32-run victory over Rajasthan Royals which kept them afloat in the top-four race. 

They now find themselves in fifth place after three victories from seven games. 

Just like Daredevils, their batting lacks consistency, an example of which was in the match against Rajasthan Royals, as the Shikhar Dhawan-led side could only muster 134 runs for nine in their allotted 20 overs. 

But the bowlers, led by young Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-14), rescued the Hyderabad side and dismissed Rajasthan for a paltry 102.

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Dhawan will need to lead from the front

Bhuvneshwar's senior pace colleague Dale Steyn (2-33) took two wickets while Karn Sharma, Moises Henriques and Irfan Pathan scalped one each in a collective bowling effort to ensure Sunrisers victory. 

But it is skipper Dhawan who will need to lead from the front in the batting department. 

A good start is of paramount importance and he knows it too well. He has the aggressive Aaron Finch for company and if the duo get going, it will be ominous for the opposition. 

Then there is the in-form David Warner who lends muscle to the middle-order, with all-rounder Darren Sammy following him.