South Africa's batsman David Miller (left), Anrich Nortje in action; Sarfaraz Khan of Delhi Capitals bats during the IPL. (Reuters | PTI) IPL 2023: In the tournament opener against Chennai Super Kings, Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans played like a champion, while on the other hand, in Rishabh Pant’s absence, Delhi Capitals struggled. They were humbled by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their opening match.
Sourav Ganguly, Delhi Capitals Director Cricket, was optimistic that his team will bounce back after the Lucknow debacle.
The hosts certainly have problems. Losing Rishabh Pant weakens their batting throughout the tournament. But the good news is that their South African pacers Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi have returned from their international duty, and it will bolster their bowling, which lacked bite in the first match.
Here are the tip-offs ahead of the Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Titans
Anrich Nortje set to play
Sourav Ganguly said both Anrich Nortje and his South African compatriot Lungi Ngidi have arrived and are available for selection on Tuesday. Delhi Capitals’ pace attack trio of Mukesh Kumar, Chetan Sakariya and Khaleel Ahmed lacked bite at the back end of Lucknow’s innings. “Nortje is here. It is not a worry because Khaleel and Mukesh bowled well. Sakariya bowled really well in the first 2 overs. He leaked runs in the last 2 overs. But that can happen in T20. We have the attack. It was just the first game,” he said.
🗣️ Excited to be in Delhi, with Dilli 💙
📽| We caught up with Nortje as he joins the band of 🐯🐯 for #IPL2023 🙌#YehHaiNayiDilli | @AnrichNortje02 pic.twitter.com/r60l55AMgQ
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 3, 2023
Miller boost for Gujarat Titans
The return for Davi Miller is only going to add steel in their solid-looking team. Miller is a prolific six-hitter and with Williamson’s season-ending knee injury, Miller’s inclusion will give a massive boost. Miller was the leading run-scorer for Gujarat Tiatans in IPL 2022, with 481 runs from 16 matches, with an unbeaten 94 being his highest score.
A DM like no other! ⚡💙🫡 #TitansFAM, welcome @DavidMillerSA12 using GIFs only! #AavaDe pic.twitter.com/AQ3SEyXSIf
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) April 3, 2023
Sarfaraz to keep wickets
Rishabh Pant’s injury has created a massive void in the Delhi Capitals team. The franchise had shown faith in Sarfaraz Khan in their first match against LSG, and the part-time keeper was found out. Sourav Ganguly has defended Sarfaraz and said it would be “unfair” to judge him after just one game. “The game has changed. You look at keepers who can bat. It’s an all-round position. Sarfaraz has kept wickets for Mumbai in Vijay Hazare this season. At this level, obviously, pressure is different. But he has kept in one match. You can’t pass judgment on him so quickly,” he said.
Venue stats
Considering the size of the ground, one can expect a lot of sixes on this ground. The average first-innings score here since the start of IPL 2019 is 170, with three bat-first wins, seven chasing wins, and one game which went to a Super Over.
Delhi Capitals XI: Prithvi Shaw, David Warner (c), Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan (wk), Rovman Powell, Aman Khan, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, 10 Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed
Impact player – Manish Pandey
Gujarat Titans XI: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Josh Little, Mohammed Shami
Impact player – Sai Kishore
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