CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress / ITDC News Bhopal: IPL 2024, DC vs SRH IPL Live Score, Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: After playing two matches in the ongoing IPL 2024 season at their adopted home ground, Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, Delhi Capitals are back in the capital city for their first ‘home’ game this season. They won their first match in Vizag, against defending champions Chennai Super Kings, by 20 runs, but succumbed to an unfortunate 106-run loss against Kolkata Knight Riders in their second game.
For captain Rishabh Pant, it will be his first appearance in front of the Delhi home crowd since returning to action after 15 months out owing to his recovery from a car accident in December 2022. Pant made a quiet start to his campaign in IPL 2024 before finding his rhythm to score back-to-back fifties en route to amassing 210 runs in seven games for Delhi, enough to get himself into the conversation for a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad. Not to forget, Pant has also been exceptional behind the stumps, and was hailed for his brilliant captaincy in the previous game as well, where he won the Player of the Match award.
However, Capitals will be wary of a red-hot Sunrisers Hyderabad side when they host the 2016 champions today at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. SRH won all their last three matches in the campaign, beating CSK at home before winning two on the road – against Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Placed fourth in the IPL points table currently, with four wins in six matches, Sunrisers Hyderabad have set a different template altogether with two of the highest-ever totals of 277/3 and 287/3, which will require a lot of heart and skill to counter.
Delhi, on the other hand, have had a mixed season thus far, although impressive wins against Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans have put them back in the mix. In all, they have three wins and four defeats in seven outings so far as they stand sixth in the table.
Pant will hence need to rely on his bowlers entirely to keep the likes of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen quiet in the clash in New Delhi. Kuldeep Yadav’s (economy of 6.06) left-arm wrist spin could prove to be a game-changer for Delhi against SRH and in Tristan Stubbs, the skipper has found an ideal third spin option alongside Axar Patel (6.75). But all eyes will be on how Khaleel Ahmed and Ishant Sharma go up against Head and Sharma in the powerplay.
For SRH, their biggest concern this season has been their bowlers with only skipper Cummins (7.87) having an economy rate of less than eight runs per over, which is considered good in T20. The seasoned pace duo of Jaydev Unadkat (11.35) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (10.45), have both been average while the tweakers — wrist spinner Mayank Markande (11.23) and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed (ER 12.44) — have been sent on a leather hunt.