New Delhi: It promises to be a battle between bat and ball in more ways than one when Gujarat Lions take on Delhi Daredevils at the Kotla here on Wednesday.
While the fledgling Lions have impressed as a batting unit, the Devils are quickly emerging with the reputation of being the stingiest bowling attack in IPL-9, showing great resilience in the face of early setbacks.
Suresh Raina’s side led off with three early wins before a hiccup against Sunrisers Hyderabad. They then rebounded with a strong performance at home to trip up the runaway Royal Challengers Bangalore to underline their credentials as potential semi-finalists.
Gujarat are currently second in the league standings behind Kolkata Knight Riders and have looked a compact unit under the captain-coach combination of Raina and Brad Hodge. The former has taken to leadership like a duck to water after years in Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s shadow, but faces a stern test against old colleague Zaheer Khan here on the morrow.
Delhi too are in the process of scripting a solid run of success, another happy story of unity at the top. Team mentor Rahul Dravid brings calm and method to the table while Zaheer has been a hands-on captain.
Three wins on the trot in varying circumstances are the immediate result, and with as many home matches in hand, the Devils - currently third — too will want to consolidate their place in the points table. Playing a major role in Dravid’s plans are his two seniors, Zaheer and Amit Mishra. The team balance seemed askew in the initial games but the induction of Imran Tahir has redressed that significantly.
They fought like tigers in defence of 164 against power-packed Mumbai Indians here three days ago, and it is likely that the same combination will be fielded on Wednesday. But with Dravid at the wheel, take nothing for granted. His unflurried approach was evident in the case of young Sanju Samson.
The 21-year-old looked all out of sorts in the first three matches but played a pivotal innings while setting a target against Mumbai. Jean Paul Duminy too is beginning to hit the straps behind the leading quartet.
With the ball, Zaheer has struck a solid partnership with Chris Morris and Mohammad Shami operating in front of Mishra and Tahir. They will have to be at their best against the Lions, whose batsmen number — besides Raina — Dwayne Smith, Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo and Dinesh Karthik.
