IPL 2018: Will the Delhi Daredevils team of explosive T20 batsmen be able to subdue the Kings XI Punjab team?

It was meant to be a grand homecoming for Gautam Gambhir and, along with that, a change in Delhi Daredevils’ fortunes when the season was starting. Five games down, and they are back to where they were when Gambhir last played for Daredevils.

For the second time in a fortnight, Kings XI Punjab will clash with Delhi Daredevils. Since that campaign-opener, Kings XI have picked up steam to reach the top of the points table, while Daredevils finds itself in the cellar even before its first home game.

Source: NDTV Sports

Despite having a two-time IPL winning captain leading them this year, Delhi Daredevils' outing has been woeful this year. Multiple rejigs have been made, fresh faces brought in, but results seem to be the same. Pant leads the batting charts for them at 223 runs while the others have all scored less than hundred runs so far. Apart from Trent Boult and Tewatia, their bowling has been uninspiring while Morris and Shankar have been disappointing.

Source: Hindustan Times

In contrast, Kings XI Punjab has been one of the most impressive sides this tournament. Ashwin’s captaincy has been top-notch, and their top order has been in such good form that the middle order has barely got a look-in. The only worrying points for them would be Axar Patel’s fitness and Yuvraj Singh’s insipid performances.

After 5 consecutive away matches, which yielded just 1 win, Delhi will be hoping a shift back home would also bring with it a change in fortunes.

DD vs KXIP Team News

Delhi Daredevils

• After two losses, DD management would re-assess their combination.
• Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar and Harshal Patel are all not certain in the playing XI.
• Chris Morris is likely to keep his place.
• Liam Plunkett, Daniel Christian, Colin Munro and Sandeep Lamichhane are all in contention of playing.

Kings XI Punjab

• Kings XI can make a couple of changes in their lineup, resting Axar Patel and Mohit Sharma. 
• Ankit Rajpoot and Barinder Sran are most likely to replace them.

Key Players: 

Delhi Daredevils: 

• Rishab Pant has been the Delhi’s best batsman so far. Jason Roy, Gautam Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer have also played one inning of substance.
• Trent Boult and Rahul Tewatia have been the stars with the ball.

Kings XI Punjab:

• Chris Gayle and KL Rahul have been in stellar form.
• As far as bowling is concerned, Mohit Sharma, Andrew Tye and Ashwin have picked the bulk of wickets.

Predicted 11:

Delhi Daredevils: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Rahul Tewatia, 9 Shahbaz Nadeem/Jayant Yadav, 10 Harshal Patel, 11 Trent Boult

Kings XI Punjab: 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Karun Nair, 5 Aaron Finch, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Mujeeb ur Rahman, 9 Andrew Tye, 10 Barinder Sran, 11 Mohit Sharma/Ankit Rajpoot