Resurgent Daredevils pose stiff challenge to Kings XI (Preview)

Returning from an eight-wicket drubbing at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Kings XI Punjab will face a daunting task when they take on a resurgent Delhi Daredevils (DD) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 match at the Feroz Shah Kotla here on Saturday.

Delhi's confidence got a major boost after the massive 97-run victory against Rising Pune Supergiants on Tuesday, thanks to an all-round show from the likes of centurion Sanju Samson, Chris Morris, skipper Zaheer Khan and leg-spinner Amit Mishra.

The visitors, on the other hand, failed to extend their two-match winning momentum when after being outplayed by KKR at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.

Going into Saturday evening's double header, the Daredevils will not only aim a repeat of their pervious match's performance but also start their campaign at home on a winning note.

With promising batsman Shreyas Iyer back in the squad after recovering from chicken pox, Delhi's batting will once again revolve around the young trio of Samson, Rishabh Pant and Sam Billings.

If Iyer is to be included in the playing XI, it could be at the cost of his Mumbai captain and misfiring opener Aditya Tare.

Delhi will also expect their all-rounders Morris and Corey Anderson to fire with the bat, lower down the order. Morris' fiery nine-ball 38 in the last match helped Delhi seize the momentum against Pune.

With Zaheer and Mishra sharing six wickets between them in the last match, the hosts will once again be spoilt for choice when it comes to their bowling department. Australian Pat Cummins also chipped in with two wickets making him too hard to be ignored.

South African quick Kasigo Rabada and India's Mohammed Shami are yet to play a match despite Shami sweating it out at the nets on Friday.

Meanwhile, Punjab will expect a better batting effort, specially after Thursday's horrific three-wicket over from pacer Umesh Yadav.

With the likes of power-hitters like Glenn Maxwell, David Miller in good form, Punjab can hope for another good start from Hashim Amla and Manan Vohra. Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha can also use the long handle at will which makes them a good batting unit.

On the bowling front, medium pacer Sandeep Sharma and left-arm spinner Axar Patel have delivered more often than not in this IPL while veteran Ishant Sharma got to bowl just two overs against KKR and Varun Aaron managed to pick a wicket.

With the IPL still in its preliminary stages, Saturday's match will provide another opportunity for both the teams to get a settled line-up as the tournament progresses.

Squads:

Delhi Daredevils: Zaheer Khan (Captain), Mohammad Shami, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant (WK), Chama Milind, Khaleel Ahmed, Pratyush Singh, Murugan Ashwin, Aditya Tare, Shashank Singh, Ankit Bawane, Navdeep Saini, Corey Anderson, Angelo Mathews, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris, Carlos Brathwaite and Sam Billings.

Kings XI Punjab: Glenn Maxwell (Captain), David Miller, Manan Vohra, Hashim Amla, Shaun Marsh, Armaan Jaffer, Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Arman Jaffer, Anureet Singh, Mohit Sharma, K.C. Cariappa, Pradeep Sahu, Swapnil Singh, T. Natrajan, Matt Henry, Varun Aaron, Axar Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Gurkeerat Mann, Rahul Tewatia, Darren Sammy, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Nikhil Naik, Ishant Sharma.

--IANS

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