Titans' conservative batting approach could hurt them in Delhi

Another monstrous batting performance from Sunrisers Hyderabad spoiled Delhi Capitals’ much-awaited return to Arun Jaitley Stadium. The Men in Orange posted a total of 266 and, in response, Delhi got 199. At one stage, the Capitals were 135/3 in 8.3 overs before losing steam in the second half of the innings. 

As a result, they suffered their fifth defeat of the season; a couple more losses could knock them out of the IPL 2024 playoffs race. They will now be up against Gujarat Titans on April 24 (Wednesday), who are coming into this match on the back of a three-wicket win over Punjab Kings in Mullanpur.

The Titans have lacked batting firepower and it could cost them if the surface once again turns out to be a belter. GT have the worst scoring rate (8) and balls/boundary (6.5) in this year’s IPL, but they somehow have found a way to win and stay relevant. Delhi have more power-hitters in their line-up and would bank on them to get past Shubman Gill and his men.

DC vs GT Head-to-Head 

Overall - Games 4 | DC 2 | GT 2

In Delhi - Games 1 | DC 0 | GT 1

Venue details

As discussed above, the Arun Jaitley Stadium hosted its first match of the season last weekend and it ended up being a high-scoring affair. A total of 465 runs were scored in the match, with SRH posting yet another 250-plus score. Both pacers and spinners picked up four wickets each. However, seamers had an economy rate of 10.1 while spinners conceded at 14.6.

Weather forecast

We are sure to have a full game in Delhi. The temperature is expected to be around 32-36 degrees Celsius, and the humidity will be 15-25%.

Things to watch out for

Warner’s slump in form

David Warner started this season on a solid note, managing scores of 29, 49 and 52, scoring 130 runs at an average of 43.3 and a strike rate of 144.4. However, he hasn’t done much in the last four encounters. He has hit just 37 runs @ 9.25 and a strike rate of 112.1. Not once has he crossed the 20-run mark in the last four innings.

All seven of his dismissals have come against pace. Deliveries moving away from his body have troubled the batter, resulting in four of his dismissals. Five of his dismissals have also been on the off-side line, showing the batter’s weak spot in playing deliveries away from his body. 

Miller has been a shadow of himself 

The Titans’ middle-order has under-performed this season and it’s largely because of David Miller not being at his best. The left-hander, who missed three games because of an injury, has managed just 83 runs across five innings @ 20.8 and a strike rate of 126. In IPL 2022 and 2023, the South African had slammed 740 runs @ 49.33 and an SR of 143.7.

This year, he got 44* off 27 against SRH but, apart from that, his season has been a poor one so far. He has been one of the worst batters in the middle overs (7 -15). Amongst batters who have played at least 30 deliveries in this phase, Miller has the second-worst strike rate (95.5) and the worst balls/boundary (14.7). For GT to progress further, Miller will have to step up.

Probable XIs

DC - David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav/Sumit Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar

GT - Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, David Miller, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Kartik Tyagi, Mohit Sharma

Telecast and streaming details

The match will be live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on Jio Cinema. The game will start at 7:30 PM, with the toss happening at 7 PM.

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