SRH take on DC at home with huge playoffs implications
DC have won just two of their last six games, while a loss for SRH could knock them out
Sidharth Monga
04-May-2025 • 3 hrs ago
Big picture: Home disadvantage
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) just about hung in against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) survived by the skin of their teeth against Rajasthan Royals (RR), and now it is the turn of another IPL 2025 playoffs contender - Delhi Capitals (DC) - to come up against a side with little to lose: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
This is a big game with huge playoffs implications for DC, who began with four wins in four matches, but find themselves on the peripheries of the top four. Having won just two matches in the last six, DC are stuck at 12 points in a season in which even 18 can prove to be insufficient.
DC will be relieved they are out of Delhi. Not because of the pollution or heat - although they are reasons as good as any - but because the square at their home has again slowed down, not suiting their style of play. They have a 3-1 away record as against 3-3 at home, thanks to two wins in Visakhapatnam and the Super Over finish in Delhi.
Then again, only Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings have won more than lost at home this year. So SRH will not be too thrilled to come back home where they have expressed some disappointment with the pitches.
Both teams prefer quick, high-scoring pitches, but SRH more so than DC because DC have Kuldeep Yadav. SRH aren't officially knocked out yet, but the best they can manage is 14 points. Two teams have already gone past that mark, and two are stationed there. So SRH are pretty much that dangerous side with little to lose, especially since they can become beasts when playing freely.
Form guide
Delhi Capitals LLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad LWLLW
Sunrisers Hyderabad LWLLW
The big question
Everybody has been asking for the inclusion of T Natarajan, but DC have said they can't find whom to leave out for him. There are Mukesh Kumar and Dushmantha Chameera to name two, but will DC make the change so late in the piece?
In the spotlight: Mitchell Starc and SRH openers
Last year's final came down to this. Mitchell Starc dominated Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma both in Qualifier 1 and the final, playing for KKR. Knowing how important the starts are for SRH, this will be a key contest again. Starc against Abhishek: 10 balls, eight runs, one wicket. Starc against Head: seven balls, 10 runs, two wickets.
The beauty of these short-lived contests is that Head and Abhishek don't hold back either. Starc will be running in hard, bowl as quick as he can and try to swing it away towards top of off. The SRH openers won't look to play him out. It's going to be a cracker. In the previous contest between these teams earlier this year, Starc got the wicket of Head and set up an easy chase.
Team News and probable XIIs
Dushmantha Chameera has gone at 10.55 an over, Mukesh Kumar at 9.87. There could be case for T Natarajan to replace either of them.
Delhi Capitals (probable XII): 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Abishek Porel, 3 Karun Nair, 4 KL Rahul (wk), 5 Axar Patel (capt), 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Vipraj Nigam, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mukesh Kumar/T Natarajan, 12 Ashutosh Sharma
Mohammed Shami's fitness and performance are under the scanner, but Simarjeet Singh is the only other Indian fast bowler in their squad.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable XII): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Travis Head, 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 Aniket Verma, 6 Kamindu Mendis/Wiaan Mulder, 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Mohammed Shami/Simarjeet Singh, 12 Zeeshan Ansari
Stats that matter
- SRH have won only one game out of seven in which Starc has been involved, way back in 2014, when he played for RCB.
- Heinrich Klaasen holds a good record against DC's premium spinner, Kuldeep: 24 balls, 46 runs, 0 dismissals.
- Against Axar, Klaasen has faced 51 balls for 92 runs and one dismissal.
Pitch and conditions
Players will hope the conditions will be friendlier after highs of 37 degrees Celsius during the day. The pitches have behaved dramatically differently despite being on the same square. There is one pitch that is particularly slow, which Mumbai Indians benefited from. The quicker pitches have seen four scores of over 200 and a 190 chased down easily.
Sidharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo