After a much-needed four-day break, Zaheer Khan’s Delhi Daredevils head south of India for a crunch fixture against the high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday. While an intermission in a highly-taxing tournament like the Indian Premier League (IPL) is capable of snapping a side’s rhythm, the Daredevils can take heart from the way their Thursday’s opponents have teed off since their brief intermission, winning three successive fixtures to rise up to the top of the table.

Having lost two games on the bounce, the four-day hiatus couldn’t have come at a better time for Daredevils, allowing one of the most unpredictable, and hence exciting, sides of the tournament to regroup and go again in their quest for top-four. However, coming back and straight away facing a team that has been on a four-match winning streak may not be the easiest of tasks. Yet, a win over a strong unit will not just put them on par with third-placed Kolkata Knight Riders and boost their chances of making it to the knockouts, but also give them immense confidence going into the last few matches.

Daredevils have earned the status of ‘true underdogs’ of the tournament, tasting success inspite of the capricious nature of their campaign. It remains to be seen, however, if this eccentric trait is capable of blunting David Warner & Co., who’ve found success in their monotonous, yet richly-rewarding approach.

Zaheer’s astute leadership has been one of the highlights for the Daredevils, and it will take quite a few of his tactics, copybook or otherwise, to tame the orange-cap chasing Warner, who has scored three out of his five fifties at home in this season. Even with Shikhar Dhawan recapturing form, and Yuvraj Singh and Kane Williamson strengthening the batting line-up, dismissing Warner early could leave Sunrisers groggy. Daredevils’ biggest challenge, however, will be to counter the most in-form bowling attack of the tournament. That Daredevils have had three different opening pairs in the last three games and have struggled to find the best combination, may not bode well for them as Sunrisers’ strength has been in their quicker bowlers getting the ball to swing early, pick up swift wickets and pile on the pressure.

One can look back at Sunrisers’ sagacious auction strategy for the reason behind their current success. They’ve already matched last year’s tally of wins, in four fewer games and seem destined for their first playoff appearance, barring a dramatic collapse from hereon. Despite a good winning run, the absence of conviction in the batting order on the occasion of Warner’s failure is an area Sunrisers will look to improve upon in the next four fixtures. Dhawan has played a couple of handy knocks, Williamson too had a good outing against Royal Challengers Bangalore, but the gulf in the consistency shown by Warner and the rest is a grey area, susceptible to be exploited by oppositions.

After five straight fixtures where batsmen made merry, the previous game in Hyderabad, featuring Gujarat Lions, saw the surface appear a little two-paced and tough for batsmen to score off. A star-studded line-up of Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina crashed and burned, with only Aaron Finch showcasing his ability to dig in. If a similar track is on offer on Thursday, Daredevils batsmen will want to take their time, if they are to negate Sunrisers’ bowling threat.

Sunrisers are in superb form and are unlikely to tamper with their line-up for their last home game. The think-tank could’ve considered drafting Eoin Morgan in if Williamson had made a third single-digit score since his half-century against Royal Challengers. However, the New Zealand skipper played a pivotal role, with his knock of 32, to help Sunrisers post a defendable total in a narrow win over Rising Pune Supergiants on Tuesday. The make-up of the team and Mustafizur Rahman’s priceless contributions means Trent Boult will remain on the sidelines.

The good news coming from the Daredevils camp is that there are no injury concerns. The challenge, however, is of finding the right combination to counter Sunrisers’ bowling prowess. Quinton de Kock’s early form will hold key. Zaheer could also be tempted to bring back JP Duminy for Sam Billings, who has had two ordinary outings since an impressive IPL debut. Against a relentless bowling unit, Duminy’s calm and experience could be handy for Daredevils.

Teams:

Sunrisers Hyderabad (From): David Warner(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha(w), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman, Karn Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, Siddarth Kaul, Ben Cutting, Eoin Morgan, Trent Boult, Aditya Tare, Tirumalsetti Suman, Bipul Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Vijay Shankar, Ricky Bhui

Delhi Daredevils (From): Quinton de Kock(w), Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Sam Billings, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Morris, Rishabh Pant, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Zaheer Khan(c), Shahbaz Nadeem, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mayank Agarwal, Imran Tahir, Pawan Suyal, Jean-Paul Duminy, Jayant Yadav, Akhil Herwadkar, Pawan Negi, Chama Milind, Shreyas Iyer, Pratyush Singh, Mahipal Lomror, Khaleel Ahmed