Perennial under-achievers Delhi Daredevils (DD) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will look to recover from opening losses and put their campaign back on track when they clash in an IPL match here tomorrow.
Laggards last season, Delhi and Punjab had hoped for a positive start but both the teams suffered contrasting defeats at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Lions respectively.
Delhi had finished 7th in the 2015 edition and they would be looking to get their combination right to get into the winning mode.
The Daredevils, who had qualified for Champions League T20 twice, have a new unit with current India U-19 coach and batting great Rahul Dravid as their mentor and Paddy Upton as their coach.
They also have a new skipper in Zaheer Khan and the onus will be on him to inspire his team to put the disappointments behind.
Against Kolkata, Delhi cut a sorry figure when they were dismissed for 98 in 17.4 overs with only four of their batsmen reaching double figures and Zaheer has to ensure that they come up with a better performance tomorrow.
A lot was expected from Carlos Brathwaite, who became the toast of the cricketing world after hitting England’s Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes to win the ICC World T20 final for the West Indies.
But the strapping youngster could not make much impact against Kolkata and Delhi will expect him to repeat his World T20 exploits.
Similarly, all-rounder Pawan Negi, who was bought for 8.5 Crores, becoming the most expensive Indian player in the IPL Auction of 2016, also needs to step up and deliver.
