IPL 2024 DC v SRH Preview - Like a phoenix from the flames

Key match stats

Pitch Stats – Arun Jaitley IPL records

Pitch report Arun Jaitley Stadium from the 10 most recent IPL matches

Team form DC vs SRH
DC: WLLWW
SRH: WLWWW

Recent meetings: IPL 2023 - SRH won by 9 runs, DC won by 7 runs

Weather

General Forecast: Dry and Clear
Chance of dew: Low to Moderate

Preview DC vs SRH

It's bottom vs 2nd bottom! No wait, that was last season's blog...

It certainly has been a dramatic turn around in form this year especially for Sunrisers Hyderabad whose 4 wins out of 6 this season have pushed them into contention for a playoff spot. However, lets not forget Delhi's recovery either. After 2 heavy defeats, they looked more likely to be challenging for the wooden spoon again than for the top 4.

DC have relied on their bowling attack firing in recent matches in order to get those vital wins and they'll certainly need them to do so again in this fixture. SRH have put up some frightening numbers with the bat so far this season having broken the IPL highest scoring record twice already!

It's been a bit of a chalk and cheese year so far for DC, they themselves conceded 2 massive totals against KKR (272) and MI (234) but on other occasions their bowling has looked irresistible. Of the 5 sub-40 powerplay scores recorded so far in IPL 2024, DC's bowlers have been responsible for 3 of them.

Bowling side	Powerplay Score	Batting Side
SRH	27 for 3	PBKS
DC	30 for 4	GT
DC	31 for 2	RR
DC	32 for 2	CSK
RR	38 for 1	PBKS

Lowest powerplay scores in IPL 2024 as of 17 April

They'll have their work cut out to add to the list above, given the form and aggressive intent of this Sunrisers side, particularly at the start of an innings. Sunrisers are currently delivering an average powerplay score of 66!

The one factor we're not too sure about yet is the pitch. Delhi are returning to their regular home of the Arun Jaitley stadium for the first time this season. The wicket here has been a little bit like the home side's form, difficult to predict!

There were times last season when it was painfully slow. Cast your mind back to the match here against KKR last year where the visitors bowled 16 overs of spin in a single innings, in a match that barely registered 250 runs. Certainly the overriding theme in recent times has been a pitch that the slower bowlers can be effective on and if that is the case again today, then DC certainly have the advantage.

However, we've also seen some higher scoring at this venue too. SRH posted 197 here last April despite suffering a middle order collapse. DC weren't far off chasing that down until they too fell victim to a mid-innings wobble. That was all before CSK struck 223 here in the most recent IPL match at the Arun Jaitely.

DC were ill prepared to bat on slow and low surfaces last season. So far in IPL 2024 we've seen that home dominance has begun to return, although in the last couple of weeks this trend has stagnated. Still, the Capitals will certainly need to engineer favourable conditions and the players to perform in them if they are to continue their push towards the top half.

DC SRH head to head

SRH bowling vs DC batting

That the Sunrisers bowlers have taken a bit of punishment this year has largely been airbrushed over as a result of their batsmen's ability to out hit opposition teams. They've been conceding at 9 an over in the powerplay which over recent seasons is about par but at the death, the only side more expensive than them (economy of 12.9 an over) has been Delhi Capitals.

Warner head to head Bhuvi T20 cricket

DC will have been boosted by the news that David Warner has not broken a finger after being struck in the match against LSG last Friday. Heavy swelling around his knuckle prevented him from taking part in the win at GT earlier this week but he must be in contention for a return in this game. The above head to head record shows the respect he tends to give to former SRH teammate Bhuvi.

Cummins, Bhuvi and Unadkat combined IPL records at the Arun Jaitely Stadium

However, it's not just Bhuvi that DC should be wary of on this surface, Cummins and Unadkat have looked particularly effective by taking pace off on slower pitches. In fact, between them, SRH's 3 most experienced bowlers at the Arun Jaitely (they've all bowled a minimum 24 overs at this ground in T20 cricket) have very similar records. An average around the mid-20s, strike rate of a wicket every 3 overs and an economy of about 8.5.

Stubbs death over record IPL 2024

Where DC have also breathed life into their side of late has been in the emergence of 2 young batsmen in Tristan Stubbs and Jake Fraser-McGurk. The later has been a big factor in their back to back victories while Stubbs has had to sit on the side lines and watch. DC will hope that period of inactivity won't have harmed the South African's form as he could be a key factor in putting this SRH bowling attack under-pressure at the end of the innings.

DC bowling vs SRH batting

This could well be the head to head that decides the match. DC's powerplay bowlers have taken plenty of wickets so far this season as the table above shows. However, they are up against the 2 batsmen with the best powerplay strikes in IPL 2024 and I very much doubt that they'll be showing too much respect to the likes of Khaleel Ahmed and Ishant Sharma.

Travis Head powerplay record IPL 2024

In my last SRH preview, I noted that while the SRH openers had consistently got off to flying starts, they'd struggled to bat deeper into the innings. Travis Head corrected that stat by finally playing a 40+ ball knock and leading SRH to that incredible total in Bengaluru.

Markram head to head vs left arm spinner in T20 cricket

While run-scoring might not come quite as freely in this match, SRH will be keen for one of their lefties to bat into the middle overs once again to avoid unfavourable match-ups against the DC spinners. Aiden Markram for example has been dismissed twice by Axar Patel in only 6 deliveries faced in T20 cricket and his career stats vs left-arm spin in general see a marked decline in performance.

Of course if SRH can navigate the new ball and manipulate Kuldeep and Axar through the middle overs then they'll feel confident that they have the firepower to cash in at the death.

Death overs run-rate IPL 2024

DC themselves have been going at an economy of 13.3 during the last 5 overs of matches in IPL 2024. DC's original closer in Anrich Nortje has since lost his place, after going for an eye-watering 18 an over during the final 5. Therefore the Capitals will be looking to Mukesh Kumar amongst others to try and close out the innings vs Klaasen and Samad.

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All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible below
IPL player head to head records
IPL player records by stadium
IPL stadium records.
Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and highlights within GIFs which are not intended to infringe copyright- read full disclaimer. Background images are used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free.