Faltering Delhi Capitals eye improvement; LSG look to keep winning juggernaut rolling

Lucknow: Delhi Capitals' bowling unit will have to punch above its weight against an in-form Lucknow Super Giants, who will start as overwhelming favourites in an Indian Premier League match here on Friday.

LSG, who sit on the third spot on the points table, seem to have all their bases covered even though rookie pacer Mayank Yadav, who bowls thunderbolts in excess of 150 kmph, is likely to miss the match because of an abdominal niggle.

The 21-year-old bowled just one over against Gujarat Titans before walking off the field, complaining of soreness last week.

In Yadav's absence, another rookie pacer, Yash Thakur starred with a five-wicket haul against GT. He will have the company of Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi among others.

LSG boasts of a strong opening pair of Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul. The South African has scored two half-centuries but the captain is yet to convert his starts into something meaningful.

The flamboyant Nicholas Pooran has been in sensational form, adding meat to LSG's total at the fag end of the innings.

The major concern for the Lucknow outfit, however, remains Devdutt Padikkal who is yet to reach double digits.

The visitors, on the other hand, are looking like an outfit bereft of a Plan B as it became apparent in their 106-run hammering by Kolkata Knight Riders. The latest loss to a struggling Mumbai Indians has left them languishing at the bottom of the points table with the worst net run rate of -1.370.

The primary worry is the composition of the Indian pace attack, which just lacks spunk.

The onus will be on Khaleel Ahmed and old warhorse Ishant Sharma once again but the duo hasn't been able to deliver consistently. Mukesh Kumar is expected to be back from injury but he has also not set the stage ablaze with his performance.

And, medium pacers Sumit Kumar and Rasikh Dar could well be lambs for slaughter against the likes of de Kock, Stoinis and Pooran.

To add to their woes, pace spearhead Anrich Nortje has been unable to shrug off the rust since coming off his injury, leaking runs at an economy of 13.43 in four outings.

DC has struggled to find the silver lining in their 2024 campaign barring skipper Rishabh Pant and Tristan Stubb's form.

The main issue is the team's lack of depth in Indian talent on the bench. This deficiency does not instil confidence in the team.

Prithvi Shaw got some much-needed runs but he needs to do more at the top. But, save Abhishek Porel, none of the uncapped Indian players have measured up, which has led to over-reliance on their overseas recruits who have also been stuttering.

Teams (from) Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (c&wk), David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Pravin Dubey, Vicky Ostwal, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Tristan Stubbs, Ricky Bhui, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Dar, Jhye Richardson, Sumit Kumar, Swastik Chikara, Shai Hope.

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Krunal Pandya, Yudhvir Singh, Prerak Mankad, Yash Thakur, Amit Mishra, Shamar Joseph, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, K. Gowtham, Arshin Kulkarni, M. Siddharth, Ashton Turner, Matt Henry, Mohd Arshad Khan.

Match starts at 7.30 PM.