IPL 2021 Match 20: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals Betting Preview

IPL 2021: Sunrisers Hyderabad v Delhi Capitals – Preview, Prediction, Probable Playing XIs and Value Bets.

Match Details
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Sunday, April 25th, 2021
16:00 SA Time

Betting Preview

The 20th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will have Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) taking on Delhi Capitals (DC) at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in the last game of the Chennai leg. The two teams have faced each other 18 times with SRH leading the scoreline by 11-7. SRH defeated DC last year in both the league games but DC were able to take revenge by beating SRH in Qualifier 2. Delhi Capitals will head into the match as favourites but SRH are coming off a victory and could give tough competition.

After starting the tournament with three consecutive defeats, Sunrisers Hyderabad have finally found their strides with a dominating 9-wicket win against Punjab Kings. In all of their first four matches of the season, SRH have found themselves chasing, succeeding only once. Despite Jonny Bairstow firing all cylinders at the top, SRH have failed to close down games from winning positions. With the unavailability of Abdul Samad and no room for Holder or Nabi in the playing eleven, the lower middle-order of SRH seems to be a matter of concern for captain Warner. The bowling attack of SRH has done a good job but the loss of T Natarajan could prove costly going forward.

On the other hand, Delhi Capitals have won 3 out of their 4 matches so far and are fresh from a comprehensive victory over the defending champions Mumbai Indians. A big credit for DC’s scintillating form goes to their main-man Shikhar Dhawan, who is currently leading the orange cap race with 231 runs in 4 innings at a strike rate of 148.07. DC have adapted well to the change in conditions from Wankhede to Chepauk. The inclusion of Amit Mishra on the slow and spinning deck of Chepauk has worked wonders for them. The lower middle-order of Delhi has only been tested once so far in the tournament, where they failed to succeed. It is only to be seen if Dhawan’s bat can pull Delhi through to another victory or they need to find a new hero on the pitch this time around.

Injury and Availability News

Sunrisers Hyderabad have suffered two blows as the left-arm pacer T Natarajan is ruled out of the tournament and Abdul Samad has suffered a hamstring injury. Delhi Capitals’ Axar Patel has joined the squad after recovering from Covid-19 and will be available for the match.

Probable Playing XI

Sunrisers Hyderabad

David Warner (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Virat Singh, Kane Williamson, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed.

Delhi Capitals

Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Amit Mishra.

Pitch and Conditions

The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai has produced some extremely difficult surfaces to bat on. Pitches have been very spin-friendly here and has offered help for pacers who take the pace off. The average first innings score at the Chepauk is 157 in IPL 2021.

Key Players to Watch Out For

Jonny Bairstow: Not many batsmen have found batting easy on the Chepauk pitch as has this man, Jonny Bairstow. In this season so far, he has scored 173 runs averaging at 57.66 with a strike rate of 132.06. After being promoted to open the innings in the last two matches, Bairstow’s main motive has been to go after the bowling and make most of the power-play. He has done his job exceedingly well, scoring 80 runs off 49 balls in the powerplay overs without being dismissed for even once. With a 43 off 22 against MI and a match-winning 63* off 56 against PBKS in the last two matches, it’s clear that Bairstow will look to continue his onslaught and opponents will have to find a counter before it gets too late.

Rashid Khan: It’s impossible to keep Rashid Khan, probably the best leg spinner in the world, away from a contest like this. The Chepauk pitch has been in use for quite some time now and it has seemingly deteriorated with time, making it a spinner’s paradise, as we’ve already seen in the previous matches played on the track. Rashid has picked up 5 wickets in 4 matches so far this season, with an impressive economy rate of 5.06. It only seems a matter of time before he starts piling up the scalps.

Shikhar Dhawan: In the last few seasons of IPL, Shikhar Dhawan has discovered a new intent in his batting. He eases onto big scores with a healthy strike rate without taking many risks. This composed aggression from Dhawan has given Delhi Capitals a solid backbone in their batting lineup. With 2 fifties in the first 4 innings of this year’s IPL already, Dhawan averages 57.75 with a strike rate of 148.07. He is in the form of his life and shows no sign of bogging down.

Kagiso Rabada: South African ace pacer’s return to the Delhi Capitals side has given their bowling attack a boost. The purple cap winner with 30 wickets in IPL 2020 will attempt to repeat his heroics this year as well. Coming off a quarantine period, Rabada has already been amongst the wickets with 4 in 3 matches so far. DC will hope for Rabada to resume his normal business and help his team by restricting the opponents in death overs as he did so frequently and effortlessly last season.

What Bets To Take

Sunrisers Hyderabad

David Warner to be SRH’s top batsman at 3.00.

Rashid Khan to be SRH’s top bowler at 3.25.

Delhi Capitals

Shikhar Dhawan to be DC’s top batsman at 3.00.

Kagiso Rabada to be DC’s top bowler at 2.90.

Prediction: Delhi Capitals to win at 1.64.