Delhi Capitals eye second win as K L Rahul returns against wounded Sunrisers

Visakhapatnam: Fresh from their morale-boosting win over LSG and bolstered by the return of India wicketkeeper-batter K L Rahul, Delhi Capitals will look to build on the momentum when they take on formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL here on Sunday.

After a thunderous start to their campaign, SRH lost to Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets on Thursday as the defeat showed that their explosive batting line-up can be reined in.

Going out of their den, the pressure will be on skipper Pat Cummins to inspire a turnaround.

Delhi, on the other hand, will be strengthened by the return of Rahul, who missed the season opener against LSG due to the birth of his first child.

A key architect of India's Champions Trophy triumph in Dubai earlier this month, Rahul was picked by Delhi Capitals for Rs 14 crore. Despite his experience, he chose not to lead the side, entrusting the responsibility on Axar Patel.

Once considered an all-format mainstay for India, Rahul was not a part of India's T20 World Cup-winning squad last year and struggled to impress during his IPL stint with LSG, leading to his non-retention.

His tense on-field exchange with Sanjiv Goenka, where the team owner looked visibly frustrated, became one of the talking points last season.

Rahul will be eager to let his performances do the talking in a fresh start at a new franchise, "I've been out of the T20 team for a while. I know where I stand as a player, and I know what I need to do to get back. This IPL is an opportunity to rediscover my game and push for a return to the T20 squad," Rahul had said recently.

He was seen training under India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar in Mumbai before joining the Delhi Capitals camp here.

Rahul's return will give Delhi's top order, which struggled in the previous match, the much-needed stability.

Chasing 211, DC found themselves reeling at 65/5 before Ashutosh Sharma (66 not out off 31 balls) and Vipraj Nigam (39 at No. 8) scripted a thrilling one-wicket victory. Tristan Stubbs also played a handy knock of 34 at No. 6.

Beyond his batting, Rahul will be an integral part of the leadership group, providing crucial inputs to Patel, who is leading an IPL team for the first time.

DC have often struggled to close out games in recent seasons, and the hard-fought win over LSG should inject the much-needed belief in the squad.

Delhi boast of a formidable bowling attack, spearheaded by Mitchell Starc, whose face-off with fellow Australian Travis Head promises to be a key battle.

Starc, alongside Axar and Kuldeep Yadav, will be crucial in countering SRH's explosive opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Head. Stubbs and Mohit Sharma can also provide crucial breakthroughs towards the end.

SRH announced their intent with 286/6 in their season opener, with Ishan Kishan smashing a 47-ball 106 after Head (67 off 31 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (24 off 11) provided a fiery start.

However, they faltered in their second outing, managing just 190/9 against LSG.

Wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen acknowledged the shortfall, stressing the importance of converting starts into substantial totals.

"A score of 210-220 would have been par on the wicket. Overall, we just didn't put enough runs on the board," Klaasen admitted. "Losing wickets at crucial moments disrupted our momentum. We need to ensure that doesn't happen frequently." SRH’s bowling attack, led by Mohammed Shami, Cummins, and Harshal Patel, remains potent but was found wanting against LSG.

Cummins, in particular, had an off day, averaging 15 runs per over. The Australian captain will be keen to bounce back and lead from the front.

Teams (from)

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Atharva Taide, Abhinav Manohar, Aniket Verma, Sachin Baby, Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head, Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Wiaan Mulder, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Chahar, Adam Zampa, Simarjeet Singh, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga.

Delhi Capitals: Axar Patel (c), KL Rahul (wk), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Karun Nair, Faf du Plessis, Donovan Ferreira, Abhishek Porel (wk), Tristan Stubbs (wk), Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Darshan Nalkande, Vipraj Nigam, Ajay Mandal, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav.

Match starts: 3.30pm.