IPL 2018: Delhi Daredevils seek right turn of coin and fortune

Delhi Daredevils seek a fresh beginning under new skipper Shreyas Iyer

Pune, April 27: Delhi Daredevils have a new captain in Shreyas Iyer after Gautam Gambhir stepped down following his team's poor outings this IPL season so far. Their first match under new captain is at Ferozeshah Kotla, their home venue, against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday (April 27).

So, here's the big question - can the Daredevils turnaround their wretched run? They have won only once in six matches and at Kotla the toss could be vital.

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The Kotla pitch is usually slow and gripping and we cannot entirely rule out another low-scoring affair. In that context, team winning toss could be eager to use the pitch when it is fresh and run-making relatively easier.

SHODDY OPENING OF DELHI DAREDEVILS

However, the Daredevils should also find a way to get off the block in a better way. Their opening combination has not worked the whole season, barring the match against Mumbai Indians when Jason Roy and Gambhir added an even 50.

The rest of their opening stands read thus:

25: (Gambhir/Prithvi Shaw) vs Kings XI Punjab.

12: (Gambhir/Colin Munro) vs Kings XI.

7: (Gambhir/Roy) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore.

4: (Gambhir/Roy) vs KKR.

0: (Glenn Maxwell/Munro) vs Rajasthan Royals.

So in that respect, it's not entirely surprising to see the Delhi Daredevils' finding themselves at the bottom of the runs-made-by openers chart.

Daredevils openers together have made 225 runs this season at a strike rate of 119.68 while Kings XI Punjab lead that list with 489 runs at a strike rate of 171.58. The Kolkata Knight Riders, the immediate opponents of Daredevils, openers have made 283 runs at a strike rate of 145.88 in this year's IPL thus far.

So, it's imperative for the Daredevils to correct that record to have any chance to move up the ladder. A place in the play-offs is too distant for them now as they need to win 7 off their remaining eight matches to be in contention for a berth in the play-offs.

It's a nearly impossible task in a competition like the IPL but with a new head in place they can hope for some improved outings and this night is not a bad time to begin a new journey.

Squads: Delhi Daredevils: Shreyas Iyer (C), Chris Morris, Rishabh Pant, Glenn Maxwell, Gautam Gambhir, Jason Roy, Colin Munro, Mohammed Shami, Amit Mishra, Prithvi Shaw, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Daniel Christian, Jayant Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Trent Boult, Manjot Kalra, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Lamichhane, Naman Ojha, Sayan Ghosh, Liam Plunkett.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (C), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Johnson, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, Ishank Jaggi, Nitish Rana, Vinay Kumar, Apoorv Wankhade, Rinku Singh, Shivam Mavi, Cameron Delport, Javon Searles, Tom Curran, Prasidh Krishna.