It’s anybody’s guess, Viru and Warner will open for Daredevils

There’s no point trying to keep something under the wraps when everyone knows about it, writes Hindustan Times, adding that Mahela Jayawardene tried something similar, and the attempt, as expected, fell flat.

“Who will open the innings is a foregone conclusion when there’s Virender Sehwag and David Warner waiting to pad up in any team. The Sri Lankan skipper, however, tried to make a secret of it, saying they haven’t taken a call on this and would like to keep the Kolkata Knight Riders guessing. Well, it’s not going to leave even a layman bemused, leave alone their opponents,” writes HT.

Meanwhile Warner made it pretty much clear the other day when he said, “I am pretty sure I'll be opening with Viru and will try to continue the success we have had in previous years.”

The Delhi versus Kolkata game will therefore be a needle game with both teams not giving an inch to the other, writes Sunil Gavaskar in his column in The Times Of India, adding that the Delhi team also will play that little bit harder since ‘their’ Gautam Gambhir will be playing for the opposition.

“Delhi will be without Kevin Pietersen, who was in such wonderful touch and David Warner will take his place but how quickly the Aussie will get over the jet lag and play on the slower pitches will decide if Delhi will be able to put up big scores as they have been doing. Once again, Sehwag will be the key and if Kolkata let him bat for a few overs, they could be on the backfoot straightaway. The fielding also will be crucial,” writes Gavaskar.

Meanwhile Jayawardene did not agree that Warner could be Kevin Pietersen's ideal replacement. “You cannot replace anyone. Kevin has unique strengths and David has different strengths. He can never be the direct replacement. Kevin had a great influence on the team. I hope David has some influence in a different way,” said Jayawardene  according to a report in The Hindu.

He said against a strong team like KKR, Delhi Daredevils would focus on executing its plans well. “KKR is a good all-round side. Everybody is complementing each other. The top-order is doing well and the middle order has not got many chances.”