RPS aim to seal berth in playoffs
Smith’s side need a victory to cement qualification; Delhi Daredevils confident after win over Gujarat Lions
NEW DELHI: What a difference one year makes. In IPL 2016, Rising Pune Supergiants, ravaged by injuries to key players, just escaped finishing with the wooden spoon. In IPL 2017, after a minor tweak in their name and a major change in terms of captaincy, they are currently second in the points table. Victory in one of their remaining games will seal a spot for them in the playoffs.
Their first step in ‘Mission Playoff’ will be the encounter against Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Friday. Not only will Steve Smith’s team be eyeing a place in the playoffs, they will also be seeking revenge for their crushing 97-run loss at the start of the tournament when Sanju Samson blasted the tournament’s first century.
RPS GATHER PACE
After a break of five days, Smith’s team head into this match refreshed and high on confidence, having won four consecutive matches. The heartening thing for Pune was that two of these wins came at home while two of the away wins came against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Uppal.
RPS will also be pleased about contributions from other players, apart from Smith, MS Dhoni, Imran Tahir and Ben Stokes. Lockie Ferguson stole the show with a haul of 2/7 against Royal Challengers Bangalore while Rahul Tripathi continued his amazing form at the top with 93 against KKR. Jaydev Unadkat stole the show by capturing 5/30 against Hyderabad, including a hattrick. The performance of all these players, combined with the class and experience of Smith, Dhoni, Stokes and Ajinkya Rahane make Rising Pune Supergiant overwhelming favourites against an unpredictable Delhi.
INCONSISTENT DELHI
Delhi Daredevils will head into the match having won two of their last three games. Yet, they are out of the playoffs. Zaheer Khan’s team paid the price for losing five consecutive games at the start of IPL 2017. This has been their story throughout the decade of IPL – inconsistent and volatile at crucial times.
In their last four games, barring the 146-run thumping against Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils have shown plenty of grit and their batsmen have led the way.