Visakhapatnam: After snatching a one-wicket victory from the jaws of defeat against Lucknow Super Giants in their season opener, courtesy Ashutosh Sharma’s heroics, Delhi Capitals face the difficult task of hosting Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The Sunday afternoon game will be Delhi’s final game at the ACA-VDCA International Stadium, which they’ve termed their ‘second home’ for the second consecutive season now.
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The Axar Patel-led Capitals will take a lot of confidence from the fact that Super Giants tamed high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous game. That result also showed that the dangerous SRH batting unit can be kept in check if the bowlers are able to execute their plans.
The hosts also got a big boost with the return of KL Rahul, who missed the first game for the birth of his first child. Rahul trained with India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar in Mumbai before joining the Delhi Capitals camp and his inclusion will lend stability to the batting unit that has the likes of big-hitting Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh.
Allrounder Vipraj Nigam — who proved his worth against LSG — will be more confident after his first outing.
Meanwhile, Sunrisers would be hoping to get back on track. The last edition runners-up, who posted the league’s second highest total of 286/6 in the opener against Rajasthan Royals, were handed a reality check by the Rishabh Pant-led LSG as their famed batting lineup failed to get going.
Despite Heinrich Klaasen’s claims to the contrary, the Sunrisers rely heavily on their top order to do all the heavy lifting. Travis Head has looked good in two outings and SRH hope Abhishek Sharma joins the act soon. Unlike last season, when the openers ran amok, the first two matches have given the middle-order chance to prove their worth.
Ishan Kishan has had mixed fortunes — a century on SRH debut followed by a golden duck — and all eyes will be on local lad Nitish Kumar Reddy in his first IPL match on his home ground.
A lot has changed for Nitish after he was adjudged the ‘Emerging Player’ last season. He justified all the attention by making his T20I and Test debut for India, and even impressed in Australia.
New recruits Abhinav Manohar and Aniket Verma have been acquired for their six-hitting prowess and the latter gave a glimpse of his capabilities during his 13-ball 36 (5×6) against LSG.
Get the latest IPL 2025 updates on Times of India, including match schedules, team squads, points table and IPL live score for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Don’t miss the list of players in the race for IPL Orange Cap and IPL Purple cap.
