IPL 2015: Struggling Delhi Daredevils face Kings XI Punjab

(From left) George Bailey and JP Duminy

New Delhi, April 30 (IANS) Following their humiliating 10-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Delhi Daredevils have no option but to go all out against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Friday.

RCB pacers Mitchell Starc (3/20), Varun Aaron (2/24) and David Wiese (2/18) bowled their hearts out to bundle Daredevils out for a meagre 95 in 18.2 overs here on Sunday. In reply, Chris Gayle (62 not out) and skipper Virat Kohli (35 not out) chased down the target in just 10.3 overs.

Each and every Daredevils bowler was smashed all over the park by the RCB openers. The side is now placed sixth on the table with six points from seven matches.

Despite having experienced and quality batsmen in the squad like Yuvraj Singh, J.P. Duminy, Angelo Mathews, the side has failed to show any improvement after their early losses. IPL's richest buy Yuvraj, who was bought for Rs.16 crore in the 2015 auction, is yet to fire.

Their bowlers Nathan Coulter-Nile, Amit Mishra, Domnic Muthuswami all leaked runs both at start and death. Spinner Imram Tahir (13 wickets) has been the most economical of them but the, absence of the injured Zaheer Khan has hurt the side.

Kings XI also come into the match with a loss, which they suffered at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday. Set 151 for victory, Kings XI could only manage 130/9. The loss pushed Kings XI to the bottom of the standings with four points from seven games.

Kings XI's batting has not clicked. Australia's swashbuckling batsman Glenn Maxwell after a hit in World Cup failed to make an impact. Skipper George Bailey led front the front in a couple of matches but failed to get support from the other end. David Miller is also yet to find form.

The bowlers, led by Aussie pacer Mitchell Johnson, have done well. Young medium pacer Sandeep Sharma has been the most economical bowler but talented all-rounder Axar Patel is yet to prove his point.

With both sides struggling to find form, they will have their task cut out when they face-off, aiming to deliver and get back to winning ways.

Head-to-head, Kings XI have won nine and Delhi has won five in 14 past encounters.

The squads:

Delhi Daredevils: JP Duminy (captain), Quinton de Kock, Mayank Agarwal, Manoj Tiwary, Yuvraj Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Angelo Mathews, Kedar Jadhav, Imran Tahir, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Zaheer Khan, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami, C.M. Gautam, Gurinder Sandhu, Jayant Yadav, Albie Morkel, Srikar Bharat, Marcus Stoinis, Dominic Joseph Muthuswamy, Shreyas Iyer, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Karapak Jiyas, Travis Head.

Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey (captain), Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha, Shaun Marsh, David Miller, Glenn Maxwell, Rishi Dhawan, Manan Vohra, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Thisara Perera, Mitchell Johnson, Anureet Singh, Karanveer Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Shivam Sharma, Parvinder Awana, Akshar Patel, Yogesh Gowalkar, Beuran Hendricks, Shardul Thakur.