The Kochi Tuskers Kerala will host the Delhi Daredevils in the 36th game of the Indian Premier League at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
Both sides go into the game with a loss in the preceding game and are in a position where a win will be vital and a loss, morale-shattering.
Kochi v Delhi odds:
It has been a forgettable tournament for the Delhi Daredevils (10/11 at
Blue Square) so far. They have won only two of the five games that they have played thanks mainly due to the lack of bowling variations that the side has. They were unable to chase down a modest 149 against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the previous game after having beaten the Kings XI Punjab in a high-scoring game previously.
The Kochi Tuskers (1/1 at
Coral) have ridden a wave. They lost two in a row, then won three successive games before losing two more. The previous loss would have been the most disappointing though. They were chasing a score of 130 and were bowled out for 74 on a track that was very unlike what they would have wanted given their quality spinners.
Ground and Pitch:
In the previous game, the track was green, with a lot of pace and bounce for the pace bowlers. The Tuskers can barely afford to produce another such track given that the Delhi Daredevils have an entourage of pace bowling battery – and not too many spinners.
Player News:
It will be interesting to see what the Daredevils do with their playing eleven. In the tournament so far, they have fiddled around with two of their four pace bowlers and one of their foreign players far too often.
It will augur well for them to go in with a more-settled unit – probably even selecting the same eleven that had played in the previous game to give them another go. Dave Warner (11/4 at
Blue Square) and Virender Sehwag (11/4 at
Blue Square) need to provide the side with a good start, especially with James Hopes (10/1 at
bet365) batting at three and being expected to play through the innings.
Kochi’s batting has floundered in the last two games. First, it was the Brendon McCullum (3/1 at
BetFred) injury which was followed by a duck that he got in the Deccan game – following two man-of-the-match awards. Mahela Jayawardene (11/4 at
Blue Square) continues to lack the runs one would expect from the captain and one suspects that there could be a change in the offing in the middle-order.
Raiphi Gomez (20/1 at
Coral) and Brad Hodge (5/1 at
Blue Square) have both looked out of sorts and there is a case for Owais Shah (7/1 at
Boylesports) to get into the playing eleven.
Prediction:
Kochi will be favourites if the track plays slower than the one in the previous game here.
