Delhi Daredevils v Pune Warriors http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 - Pune needs to prove it's worth
Delhi Daredevils http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Peter-Willey-c81951 be meeting Pune Warriors India in the 68th Indian Premier League game at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, Delhi on Saturday, May 21, 2011.
As the fourth edition of the lucrative Twenty20 is rapidly rushing towards the play-offs, the struggle for survival has been accelerated.
However, this is not the case with these two teams, as they have already wasted all of their opportunities to make it to the knockouts.
With both teams out of the play-off race, there is not http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gordon-Muchall-c1499 to play for, barring pride. Meanwhile, the two teams are languishing at the bottom two spots on the points table and the battle will be to avoid the humiliating last place in the standings.
A plethora of stars, Yuvraj Singh’s amateurish captaincy and an awful performance from batsmen, has put Pune http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Warriors-c861 into their present condition.
Being the most expensive side in the competition, the Warriors would never have wanted to land where they did.
Even the decision of buying Kolkata’s prince, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sourav-Chandidas-Ganguly-c90746, did not work for the side as the former Indian skipper failed to do much.
Yuvraj, along with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Robin-Uthappa-c2356, needs to come up in the batting order and set a solid foundation for the rest of the batsmen.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JD-Ryder-c1679 will have to take a little more responsibility.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Sehwag-c2739.
The fact that none of their players, except http://www.senore.com/Cricket/M-Morkel-c73528, would make a place in their respective national teams depicts the pitiable quality of Delhi side.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Irfan-Khan-Pathan-c64469 is yet to prove himself with the ball and the match against PWI will be his last chance to do so.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Trichunapalli-Pradeep-Varun-c94404 Aaron’s bowling in the last two games has been impressive but he needs to continue with the good work in the last game of the season.
Despite having many world-class players in the line-up, both teams have failed to build a winning combination.
However, the two teams will aim to win the game at hand and finish their terrible IPL campaign with some grace intact.
Expected to shine
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DA-Warner-c1301: A left-handed, top-order Australian batsman, who possesses aggressive but sensible batting skills. He has vast experience of domestic and international cricket and has been in good form throughout the IPL.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yuvraj-Singh-c98364: A skilled Indian all-rounder with abundant vigour and competitive abilities, Yuvraj had been shining resplendently with Team India. The left hander has led his team from the front in the league, but his efforts alone were not
enough.
Final words
The last time these two sides faced each other in the tournament, Delhi thrashed Pune Warriors comprehensively in a high scoring match.
Although, Pune Warriors are a better side on paper, the Daredevils will also aim to finish their not-so-impressive IPL campaign on a high.
The home ground factor is likely to benefit the Delhi team, which has not been successful in taking full advantage of home conditions so far in the league.
In the absence of Sehwag, Delhi’s chances are not very bright. Meanwhile, if the Warriors perform to their potential, they will not face much difficulty in crushing them.
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