Tahir key against team that released him
Rising Pune Supergiant won both their games against Delhi Daredevils last season. Can they keep that form going?
The Preview by Varun Shetty
10-Apr-2017
Match facts
Rising Pune Supergiant v Delhi Daredevils
Pune, April 11, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)
Pune, April 11, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)
Head-to-head
In the news
Neither team has immediate, short-term injury concerns. Sri Lanka allrounder Angelo Mathews joined the Daredevils squad for training on the eve of the match, but it isn't certain if he is available for selection. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha had said it was unlikely Mathews would be 100% fit for the start of the IPL.
Daredevils' batting took a hit when Quinton De Kock's injury was followed by JP Duminy's withdrawal from the IPL. Their response was to sign Australian fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus as a replacement, despite the seemingly endless list of bowling options available to them - Mohammed Shami, Kagiso Rabada, M Ashwin and Jayant Yadav make up only half of the bowlers they have in reserve.
Rishabh Pant's gutsy innings against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the face of personal grief drew praise from team-mate Chris Morris, who said the youngster is going to be a big player for India in the future. While Morris' hypothesis will take time to test, Daredevils' top-order performance against RCB made it all but certain that Pant is going to be their biggest player this season.
Imran Tahir's stoic declaration that his job was to 'come and perform' has been the only reassurance for Rising Pune's bowling attack. He will also be keen to prove a point against the team that did not play him much last season, and then released him.
Ben Stokes' explosive batting against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday did not improve his bowling form, and Dan Christian's went for 24 in two overs. Ashok Dinda has had a difficult start to the season as well, which leaves Rising Pune with an unsettled attack.
Should Rising Pune play Faf du Plessis?
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The likely XIs
Rising Pune Supergiant: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Mayank Agarwal/Faf du Plessis, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Ben Stokes, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Dan Christian/Shardul Thakur, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Imran Tahir, 11 Ashok Dinda/Ishwar Pandey
Delhi Daredevils: 1 Aditya Tare, 2 Sam Billings, 3 Karun Nair, 4 Sanju Samson, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Chris Morris, 7 Carlos Brathwaite/Corey Anderson, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Amit Mishra/Jayant Yadav, 10 Shahbaz Nadeem, 11 Zaheer Khan (capt)
Stats that matter
- The last four matches at the venue have all been won by the chasing side, which is congruent to Rising Pune's record of never having won a game after batting first.
Varun Shetty is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo