Delhi Capitals seek runs from top-order against Gujarat Titans

Delhi Capitals will be expecting runs from their KL Rahul-led top-order as they look to maintain their winning momentum against a faltering Gujarat Titans in the IPL here on Wednesday.

Delhi Capitals have had near perfect couple of games with the ball while 22-year-old Sameer Rizvi has been carrying the bulk of their batting load, having come of age early in the season.

If the likes of Rahul and Co. get into the groove, the Delhi Capitals will become a more formidable unit.

Rahul can’t be blamed for the way he has got out in his first two innings and it is only a matter of time before he finds his consistency.

Nitish Rana would be feeling more pressure having got the opportunity to bat at number three.

Pathum Nissanka found his range in the last game here, giving him additional confidence to take on the Gujarat Titans pace duo of Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj in the powerplay.

Having smashed his third IPL fifty in a row (one came last season), Rizvi is on a rampage. He always had the ability to take spinners to the cleaners but he is now able to change gears even against the fast bowlers.

The first half of his innings against Mumbai Indians was rather measured before he went ballistic to script a comfortable win for his team.

Mukesh Kumar has been impressive with the ball while captain Axar Patel has been effective as ever both in the powerplay and middle overs.

Lungi Ngidi has added depth to the bowling unit which also features T Natarajan and Indian wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

In contrat, Gujarat Titans are a team that is faltering on both fronts.

Titans have been struggling to shed the top-heavy tag. They should have chased 205 against Rajasthan Royals comfortably but the unproven middle-order could not cash in on the start provided by Sai Sudharsan.

The middle order comprising Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar and Rahul Tewatia needs to step up under pressure.

Captain Shubman Gill missed the previous game due to a muscle spasm but stand in skipper Rashid Khan said he should be fine for their crucial fixture against Delhi Capitals.

Having lost their first two games, Titans also need to be more professional in the bowling department. Both Siraj and Rabada have been a tad expensive while Prasidh Krishna has not been consistent enough.

On the brighter side, Rashid has found his rhythm early in the competition but their most impressive bowler has been 23-year-old pacer Ashok Sharma.

The Kotla pitch usually offers plenty of runs but it wasn’t the case in the afternoon game last week with Mumbai Indians managing only 162. It remains to be seen how it behaves on what is expected to be an unusually nippy April evening.

Squads:

Delhi Capitals: Axar Patel (c), Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Madhav Tiwari, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Tripurana Vijay, David Miller, Ben Duckett, Auqib Nabi Dar, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Prithvi Shaw, Kyle Jamieson, T Natarajan, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Sahil Parakh.

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Anuj Rawat, Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Nishant Sindhu, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Sharma, Jason Holder, Tom Banton, Prithvi Raj Yarra, Luke Wood, Sai Sudharsan, Arshad Khan.

Match starts 7.30 IST.