Delhi and Hyderabad search for consistency from their batters

Sometimes, it makes you wonder how funny names can be. For instance, take Sunrisers Hyderabad. Is the sun really rising for them or setting? So far, even if the sun wants to rise, the gravitational pull of their underperforming players is so high that it is not happening. By the way, I am not a nerd, nor am I good at physics. 

But seriously, imagine a league-winning captain like Aiden Markram saying this in the post-match presentation: "Not good with the bat again, not enough intent. Unfortunately, we looked like a team that was not excited to win a game of cricket." Then indeed, there is something wrong with the players. Not all is lost. If their captain can inspire their players, Hyderabad still have a slim chance of making it to the playoffs. 

Delhi Capitals have found ways to win thoroughly because of their bowling. The batters are yet to step up to the cause. They crawled to a win despite restricting Kolkata Knight Riders to 127 while bowling first. In the match against Hyderabad as well, they managed to defend 144. This summarizes their bowling credentials.

The bowlers are putting their hearts out. Now, it's up to their batters to wake up from their slumber. 

Things to watch for

Under-performing Indian batters

The agenda of the IPL is to unearth some Indian talents. But for Delhi and Hyderabad, Indians have gone underground in this season. One team has an underperforming fringe of players, and the other has an intent-less bunch of batters. 

In Delhi's case, Axar Patel, their number seven batter, has scored the most runs amongst Indians (185), and Manish Pandey has been an average performer. Overall, the Indian top order (1-7) batters have averaged 16.9 for Delhi, the worst among all teams. 

On the other hand, Hyderabad's Indian batters have a decent average of 24.1. However, they have a cumulative strike rate of 112.8, the lowest among all teams. 

Kuldeep and Axar's stranglehold

In their two wins, one thing that has worked for Delhi is Axar and Kuldeep Yadav's partnership with the ball. A lot was dependent on these two bowlers to control the middle overs. 

Either Kuldeep or Axar was performing well, or both were going for runs before their two wins. There was never a collective performance. However, in the last two matches, both have been amongst wickets while conceding at less than six. 

Thanks to their organized execution, Delhi have restricted their opponents to a total of less than 140 in both matches. In their game against Hyderabad, they also defended their first sub-150 total in the IPL. 

Where is the Rahul Tripathi of 2022?

When most of the players for Hyderabad were floundering last year, Tripathi was in a different zone. But that has yet to be the case this season.

Tripathi was deemed as one of the intent merchants in IPL 2022. He had a whopping strike rate of 162.3 while averaging 52.7 in his first 20 balls. However, that strike rate has dropped to 96.7 and the average to 29.3. Among batters who have faced 50+ balls,  only Deepak Hooda (80.4) has a lower strike rate than him in the first 20 balls.

Another area of concern is his record against pacers. In six innings, he has five dismissals and averages just 8.4 while striking at 80.8. Among batters who have faced 30+ balls against quicks, he is the only one to average less than ten. He is ahead of Hooda (80.7) regarding the strike rate by just 0.1. 

Ground details

Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, has been one of the slowest venues. In this IPL, teams have scored at a run rate of 7.9, the lowest after Ekana Stadium, Lucknow (7.5). 

The spinners have been the most profitable ones in Delhi. They have bagged 43.6% of the wickets (17) at an economy of 6.3 and a strike rate of 16.9. In comparison, the pacers have conceded 8.8 runs per over and bagged a wicket every 18.9 balls. 

The pacers have picked up 22 wickets in Delhi. Their most productive lengths have been back of a length and short. 54.5% of the wickets by pacers in Delhi have come through these lengths. Delhi is the only venue to witness 50+% of wickets fall from these lengths to the quicks. 

Tactical Nous

-In this IPL, David Warner has struggled against pacers when they have bowled on a good length, especially in the powerplay. He hasn't been dismissed but has a nominal strike rate of 79. 

In comparison, he has a strike rate of over 150 against pacers when they have bowled on full-length or back of a length/short. He has hit a boundary every 3.0 balls when pitched on a fuller length and 2.2 on BOL/Short. 

-Washington Sundar is ruled out of the IPL 2023. In his absence, it could be a wise move to bring in Akeal Hosein. In T20s since 2022, Akeal has bagged 13 wickets at an economy of 7.8 in the powerplay and 6.4 in middle-overs (7-15). 

Hosein has a good record against both left-handers and right-handers. He has picked a wicket every 25.1 balls while conceding 7.5 runs/over against lefties compared to 19.3 and 7.0 against the right-handers. 

Team Combination

Despite their batters performing poorly, Delhi will likely keep their winning combination. 

Probable XI: David Warner (c), Philip Salt (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan, Manish Pandey, Aman Hakim Khan, Axar Patel, Ripal Patel, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma

Probable Impact sub: Mukesh Kumar for Sarfaraz Khan 

Hyderabad might get Akeal in the XI as Sundar's replacement as the Delhi pitch is conducive for spinners. This could mean Kartik Tyagi taking the place of Marco Jansen.

Probable XI: Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Marco Jansen/Akeal Hosein, Mayank Markande, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, T Natarajan/Kartik Tyagi

Probable Impact sub: Vivrant Sharma for Rahul Tripathi