New Delhi: Delhi Daredevils face a Herculean task to keep alive any chance of qualifying for the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) play-offs when they take on defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Tuesday.
Back from a 10-wicket thrashing at the hands of Kings XI Punjab on Sunday, thanks to another pathetic display of batting, Daredevils are currently languishing at the bottom of the league table with just two wins from their eight matches.
On the other hand, the third-placed Sunrisers are a confident unit after beating table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders in another tie on Sunday.
Going into Tuesday’s encounter, the home side will find it extremely difficult to pick up the pieces after being shot out for their lowest ever IPL total of 67 runs at Mohali.
Such was the abject failure of the Daredevils batsmen that only three managed to reach the double-digit figures on a pitch where Punjab’s Martin Guptill blasted a 27-ball 50 in their chase.
It is turning out to be yet another nightmarish season for the Delhi franchise and compounding their misery is a hamstring injury to captain Zaheer Khan, forcing him to miss out on the last match against Punjab.
It is still not known if he will be able to make a comeback, and their England import Sam Billings is also leaving home to honour his international commitments. South Africans Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada also are set to leave this week.
Meanwhile, Sunrisers have got their house in order with both the Orange Cap and Purple Cap holders in skipper David Warner (top scorer with 459 runs) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (top wicket-taker with 20 scalps) respectively, in their ranks.
On Sunday, Warner blasted his third IPL century to power his side to a 48-run win against KKR. Not only the Australian opener, but New Zealand captain Kane Williamson also has been in great touch.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan also seems to have found his mojo back in company of the Aussie southpaw. Their middle order boasts of Yuvraj Singh, who can smash any bowler out of the park on his day.
Their bowling attack led by Bhuvneshwar alongside Afghanistan teenaged leg-spinner Rashid Khan boasts of veteran Ashish Nehra and youngsters Mohammed Siraj, Siddharth Kaul and Mustafizur Rahman.
