UPHILL TASK FOR DELHI AGAINST KNIGHT RIDERS

Buoyed by their win over Pune Warriors in the previous match, Delhi Daredevils will go out to add more wind to their campaign when they face defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the return match at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur here on Wednesday.

The Daredevils players, however, will need to play out of their skins to produce an upset to even out the loss in the season opener against the Gautam Gambhir-led side in Kolkata. Only two points separate the teams in the table and the hosts can bridge the gap and can even usurp KKR’s seventh spot, but with a favourable run-rate, if they make it two wins out of two matches at their second home here.

The visitors will enter the contest with an edge given the form their players have shown despite their disjointed campaign in which they have won only three out of nine matches.

Although Gambhir has not been among the runs in the last four games, he, along with wicketkeeper Manvinder Bisla, provide solidity at the top.

The presence of Brendon McCullum, veteran allrounder Jaques Kallis and Eoin Morgan in the middle order adds a formidability to the lineup missing from the Daredevils’ camp.

However, with the pitch offering a fair bit of bounce and carry, Brett Lee’s inclusion will give some selection headaches to the team management, given the four foreigners rule with Sunil Narine possibly retaining his place.

For the hosts, the equation is pretty simple – lose and bow out. Their batting showed some semblance form in the previous game but the top order needs to take more responsibility in staying at the wicket for a good part of the innings and Virender Sehwag needs to take the initiative on that front being the senior-most batsman in the team.