Delhi Daredevils will look to consolidate their lead at the top of the Indian Premier League table when they host Rajasthan Royals at the Ferozshah Kotla on Sunday. A thumping win over Mumbai Indians on Friday saw Delhi break away from other teams with 12 points from eight games and a win on Sunday could see them get closer to the play-offs.
Royals on the other hand have had an up and down run so far with four wins and four losses and a win on Sunday will hold them in good stead for the race to the play-offs.
Delhi have been buoyed by the run of skipper Virender Sehwag, who has half-centuries in the last three games and the Royals will have to ensure he doesn't get too many runs to stay in the game.
Delhi also have a good top order in Maheka Jayawardene, Kevin Pietersen and Ross Taylor and if one of them gets going with Sehwag, Royals could well be in for some leather-hunting.
Unless the Royals play Shaun Tait, none of the other bowlers look daunting enough with the likes of Siddharth Trivedi and Kevin Cooper capable of keeping the runs in check but not run through sides while Pankaj Singh and Amit Singh have the pace but have not been consistent enough.
The Rajasthan batting, on the other hand, has been in form with Ajinkya Rahane and Owais Shah leading the way and good support coming from Rahul Dravid and Brad Hodge and their best chance of getting the two points would be by chasing a Delhi total, especially as the hosts prefer to bat second.
The Delhi bowling has also been in good form with Morne Morkel, the leading wicket-taker so far, putting in consistent performances and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem continuing his impressive run in keeping the runs in check.
On paper, Delhi seem to have too much firepower and the match could well turn out to be a mismatch. But Royals have shown they are no pushovers and if their key players find form, they could create an upset.
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