IPL 2017| Match 50 Preview: Gujarat Lions Vs Delhi Daredevils

05/10/2017

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The 6th placed Gujarat Lions will host the 7th placed Delhi Daredevils today in Kanpur. The low-on-confidence Delhi side will look to salvage some pride against Gujarat after their crushing 146-run defeat, but the home side will offer stubborn resistance to finish their campaign on a winning note.

The Gujarat Lions side gained confidence after their 6-wicket victory over Punjab that dented their hopes of making it to the playoffs. The orange brigade put up a scintillating batting display with Dwayne Smith spearheading the attack with his 74-run knock and managed to chase down 189 with 2 balls to spare.

Delhi Daredevils, on the other hand, hit rock bottom in their match against Mumbai Indians when the whole side was dismissed for a paltry 66 while chasing a colossal target of 213. The loss all but ended Delhi's chances of featuring in the playoffs. And Delhi would like a win to end their dismal season on a high.

Head to Head:

Delhi lead 2-1

Last Meeting:

The last match the two sides played was a one-sided affair thanks to the splendid 43 balls 97-run knock by Rishabh Pant which saw Delhi chase down a humongous target of 209 with 15 balls to spare and ended Gujarat Lions hopes of featuring in the knockout stages of the tournament.

Fan Predictions:

Who will win?

As part of the preview, we bring to you fan predictions for the talking points of the game. The predictions are sourced from the newest fantasy game on the block – Nostragamus. If you want to make your predictions and win prizes, click here.

Who will win?

DD hold an advantage of 2-1 in 3 Head to Head matches played between these 2 sides in IPL. However in IPL 2017, GL have won 4 and lost 8 & DD have won 4 and lost 7. GL are coming off a strong victory against KXIP whereas DD are coming off a crushing defeat against MI. DD might've chased 208 against GL last time but we feel it is going to be different this time out. Hence we predict a win for GL.

Fans verdict: The fans are bullish on the Lions, with 63% predicting that it will be their game.

Who will hit more sixes?

A. Aaron Finch B. Rishab Pant C. Equal

In IPL 2017, Finch has hit 15 sixes whereas Pant has hit 20 sixes. However in the previous game vs GL, Pant had hit a record 9 sixes. Also Pant is at No.3 in the list of players with most sixes in this season and he is 2 hits away from becoming No.1 in that list. Clearly Pant seems to be in a better form than Finch when it comes to sixes. Hence we predict Pant to hit more sixes than Finch in this fixture.

Fans verdict: It doesn't happen very often, but the fans are with us again! 53% think Pant will out-six Finch.

Predicted XI:

Gujarat Lions: Ishan Kishan, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina (C), Aaron Finch, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner, Pradeep Sangwan, Basil Thampi, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ankit Soni.

Delhi Daredevils: Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Corey Anderson, Carlos Brathwaite, Pat Cummins, Jayant Yadav, Marlon Samuels, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Zaheer Khan(c)

Key Players:

Suresh Raina(GL)- The Gujarat skipper's consistent form with the bat has helped his side time and again in the tournament. With 434 runs he stands 3rd in the race for the orange cap and is the key batsman for the home side against Delhi's bowling lineup.

Sanju Samson(DD): He has been the only Delhi batsman that has performed consistently for the capital-based franchise. Samson has scored at an average of 34 in the tournament and nothing less than a strong start is expected from him today.

Pre-match Chatter:

"We're already out of the tournament, so we can't worry about that, we just need to keep going on and look to damage some other teams as well.", Gujarat Lions opener, Dwayne Smith

Time: 8 pm

Venue: Green Park Stadium, Kanpur

TV Listings: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Set Max, Sony ESPN