Indian Premier League - IPL / Edward Hammond-Kenny / 03 April 2010 /

Two genuine challengers for IPL 3 go head-to-head on Sunday afternoon and the winner of this match will be in a super position to book their place in the semis. Getting Delhi's two openers out early will be the key to the match, says Edward Hammond-Kenny.

Venue and Conditions

The second game of the day sees a clash of two title hopefuls as the Delhi Daredevils led by Gautham Gambhir, host Anil Kumble's Royal Challengers Bangalore. The teams are in third and second respectively, both have ten points each and both need to win to separate then from the clutch of teams chasing them.

The intimidating Feroz Shah Kotla is the venue and it's been a happy hunting ground for Delhi - they have batted first on the last three occasions and posted impressive totals of 185, 177 and 188.

Team News

Since Paul Collingwood and David Warner have been drafted into the team the Delhi Daredevils have looked like the potential tournament winners they threatened to be at the start of the competition. The only obvious change would be the reintroduction of Indian paceman Ashish Nehra, if he is fit. Dirk Nannes is still recovering from a finger injury.

Bangalore will likely field an unchanged team from the one that beat Punjab last time out. The bowling form of Praveen Kumar will be a slight worry but he is a good enough bowler to bounce back quickly.

Match Odds

There is little to split the two teams in terms of odds - Delhi are available to back at [1.93], while Bangalore are [2.06]. Delhi have won their last three and are on a roll, their bowling attack without Nannes is average, with the exception of Amit Mishra, whose wily leg spin has been exceptional. But as ever the key to the game for Delhi will be for their incredible batting line up to get them the advantage, hopefully bat first and post a big total.

Bangalore have been a little less consistent, winning two of their last four, including a defeat to Delhi at home. The key for the Royal Challengers will be to dismiss the two Delhi openers cheaply. Both Warner and Virendir Sehwag will attempt to hit their team to a winning position in the first six overs. Get them both out and Bangalore can exert more control and dominate the tempo of the Delhi innings. Expect to see Kumble use spin against Warner in the opening overs to deny him the pace coming onto the bat that he craves.

Top Batsman

Picking the Delhi Top Batsman is no easy task with their all -star line up. Both Warner and Sehwag can be virtually out of sight after six power play overs if they hang around, while Gautan Gambhir and Paul Collingwood are master accumulators. Although Dinesh Karthik top scored in their last match, its hard to make a case for him on a regular basis as there is the risk that he doesn't face enough deliveries coming in down the order.

Jacques Kallis is no longer the automatic pick for top Bangalore bat that he was in the first few weeks of the tournament, though obviously he remains the big favourite in the market. Kevin Pietersen looks in reasonable form, though his last innings (66 against Punjab) was a touch lucky as he was dropped twice. Virat Kohli looks in sensational touch. He also now bats higher up the order compared to earlier in the event and can't be overlooked.

Featured Market

If Delhi bat first you might want to look at the First Over Runs market. In the three matches at this venue they have scored 9, 9 and 11 in the first over. The option '6 Runs or Less' may well be available to lay in the region of [3.0].

Trivia

Bangalore's Robin Uthappa is second on the six hitters list with 16 in IPL 3 at an astonishing rate of a six hit every 7.5 balls faced.

Best Bet

Ed Hammond-Kenny says: Back Virat Kohli to top score for Bangalore at [8.0] or better.

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