Form, fitness in focus as Lions, Daredevils square off again

Gujarat Lions have lost two out of the four home games they've played in Rajkot © Cricaction

With the second half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 underway, teams can now have clarity as to what they need to do to make it to the playoffs. Gujarat Lions, are at the top of the table with 12 points in eight fixtures but shaky form at home will be a cause of concern. The Lions have faced two heavy defeats in the four matches played in Rajkot, and with the ball not coming on to the bat as easily, their batsmen have struggled to post big scores.

Delhi Daredevils, on the other hand, are coming into the match after a convincing win against Kolkata Knight Riders. With Sam Billings grabbing his maiden opportunity with both hands and scoring a fifty, Daredevils too have a selection headache to deal with. Daredevils have stuck to selecting horses for courses, dropping in-form players in a bid to present the best XI on the field. Thus, the uncertainty over the four foreign players remains, much like the unsettled look to their opening pair.

The last time the two sides took on each other, Chris Morris nearly pulled off a spectacular win for Daredevils. However, it ended with Gujarat Lions sealing a victory off the last ball - much like they did against Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants.

When: Gujarat Lions vs Delhi Daredevils, May 3, 20:00 IST

Where: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot

What to expect: Even as it's an evening start, conditions will remain hot. The temperature will hover from a maximum of 38 degree Celsius to 32 Degree Celsius 

Team News:

Gujarat Lions

Aaron Finch looks fit. He practiced for over an hour in the nets and looked fine. Given the form he was in before his hamstring injury, he should return to the side. It remains to be seen who he replaces, without having an impact on the team combination.

Delhi Daredevils

JP Duminy trained in the nets on the eve of the game. The team management has said that it is closely monitoring his progress and a final decision over his availability will be taken only on Tuesday morning.

Quotes:

Sam Billings: People (are) putting in performances every game, someone putting their hand up is a good thing for the Delhi Daredevils. Going into tomorrow's game, end of the day we've got to focus on what we have to do, put in the hard work in the training and make sure that we're ready for the game.

Did you know?

- Dwayne Bravo will become the second player to feature in 300 T20s after Kieron Pollard. It will be also his 100th match in IPL.

- Delhi Daredevils' opening partnerships in IPL 2016 has an aggregate of 58 runs of 57 balls in six innings. None of their partnerships lasted more than 15 balls.

- Shreyas Iyer has bagged three ducks this season in five innings, joint most by anyone for Daredevils, along with Ashish Nehra (2013).

Squads:

Gujarat Lions: Suresh Raina (Captain), Akshdeep Nath, Dwayne Bravo, Eklavya Dwivedi, Aaron Finch, Ravindra Jadeja,Dinesh Karthik, Dhawal Kulkarni, Brendon McCullum, Jaydev Shah, Dwayne Smith, Pravin Tambe, Sarabjit Ladda, Amit Mishra, Paras Dogra, James Faulkner, Ishan Kishan, Shadab Jakati,Shivil Kaushik, Praveen Kumar, Pradeep Sangwan, Dale Steyn, Andrew Tye 

Delhi Daredevils: Zaheer Khan (Captain), Khaleel Ahmed, Carlos Brathwaite, Quinton de Kock, Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Chama Milind, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Nadeem, Pawan Negi, Joel Paris, Sanju Samson, Jayant Yadav, Mayank Agarwal, Sam Billings, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jean-Paul Duminy,Imran Tahir, Mahipal Lomror, Chris Morris, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Pratyush Singh, Pawan Suyal, Amit Mishra