Top-placed Delhi DareDevils will play the bottom-ranked Kolkata Knight Riders in the 31st match of the DLF IPL at Kingsmead in Durban. The DareDevils have eight points from six matches, where as the Knight Riders have won only one game of the eight that they have played on.
 
With every passing day, the pitch at Durban seems to be getting slower and more difficult to score off, and hence, the totals may not be too high for this match either. The DareDevils have been dealt a blow already, with the injury to Virender Sehwag, and he could continue not making it to the starting eleven. On the other hand, Brendon McCullum’s captaincy has been anything but inspiring, and he has increasingly looked as uncomfortable as a fish out of water in the tournament. Delhi (4/7 at BoyleSport to win match) should be favourites to clinch this one, so much so, that a loss here will be much against the run of play and highly improbable.
 
In the absence of Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir (7/2 at Ladbrokes to be top Delhi batsman) will continue leading the team, but whether he will be able to overcome the dip in form is a big question. T.Dilshan (9/2 at Sky Bet to be top Delhi batsman) continues to impress, but Dave Warner (4/1 at Ladbrokes to be top Delhi batsman) should be the player to watch out for. Warner had hit a very matured half-century in the previous encounter, and if he does get a free leash, he could be a very dangerous man. AB. De Villiers (9/2 at Sky Bet to be top Delhi batsman) got a first ball shock in his previous encounter, but the kind of form he is in, should overcome that rare failure.
 
On the other hand, the Kolkata batting looks to be heavily relying on Brad Hodge (7/2 at Ladbrokes to be top Delhi batsman), but Morne van Wyk (5/1 at Boylesports to be top Delhi batsman) is not a batsman to forget in a hurry. He has opened the inning at first class level, and in the absence of Gayle, he could be one of those favourites to be doing it – given his form. Sourav Ganguly (4/1 at Ladbrokes to be top Delhi batsman) hasn’t had a best of last couple of matches or so, but he will continue to be an important cog in the wheel if the Knight Riders need to get anywhere near a win. It is the middle order in the form of Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wriddhaman Saha and someone like a Moises Henriques that will need to do well for the Knight Riders to succeed.
 
The bowling for the DareDevils will revolve around the likes of Dirk Nannes, Amit Mishra and Ashish Nehra, but what Delhi could need is a surprise element; probably in the form of Glen McGrath. Besides, Nannes may not be used to bowling in so many successive matches under so much media glare and may have tired the bowler down a bit. He could do with some rest before the business end of the tournament begins. Mishra (4/1 at Stan James be most economic) though is a favourite have one of the better economy rates in this game, given the track conditions and his run-up to this game.
 
From the Knight Riders, Ishant Sharma (4/1 at Stan James to be most economic) is a lone war-horse, with little support from the rest. Mashrafe Mortaza looks to be certain to make his IPL debut soon, whether he will have enough to overcome the rust is a question mark. Similarly, there are other Indians waiting in the ranks, like Iqbal Abdullah, who could be a replacement for Murali Kartik. Kartik hasn’t performed too badly, but then, the wickets haven’t been too forthcoming either.
 
Tips:
Favourite: Delhi DareDevils (4/7 at BoyleSport)
Top Delhi Batsman: Dave Warner (4/1 at Ladbrokes)
Top Kolkata batsman: Morne van Wyk (5/1 at Boylesports)
Most economic bowler: Ishant Sharma (4/1 at Stan James)