Delhi Capitals’ bowling attack will need to be more efficient to defeat the in-form Lucknow Supergiants in the IPL on Friday. Lucknow team will enter as a strong contender for victory on the home ground. Lucknow team is in third position and is continuously performing well in all aspects. However, Lucknow fast bowler Mayank Yadav, who bowled at a speed of 150 kmph in the last few days, has suffered a stomach muscle strain and is unlikely to play. This 21 year old bowler returned to the pavilion after bowling just one over in the match against Gujarat. In his absence, another young bowler Yash Thakur performed well and took five wickets in his name. Naveen Ul Haq, Krunal Pandya and leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi are also bowling well.
Lucknow has strong openers in the form of De Kock and Lokesh Rahul. De Kock has scored two half-centuries but captain Lokesh has not been able to play a big innings yet. Nicholas Pooran is also in form and plays an important role in taking the team to a big score at the end of the innings. However, Devdutt Padikal’s form has become a matter of concern as he could not even register a double-digit score.
Delhi team is at the bottom of the points table and does not have any plan-B ready. Delhi’s biggest problem is that they do not have good wicket-taking bowlers. Khaleel Ahmed and Ishant Sharma cannot bowl good spells consistently. Mukesh Kumar is unlikely to impress with his performance after his return from injury. Sumit Kumar and Rasik Dar will have to perform especially well to control Lucknow’s batsmen. Barring Rishabh Pant and Tristan Stubbs, it’s time for other batsmen to score big. Prithvi show also needs to play big innings.
