Hyderabad:Delhi Daredevils will be looking to top the points table once again as they take on an insipid Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here Thursday.

Virender Sehwag-led Daredevils will try to put behind their defeat at hands of Kolkata Knight Riders in the previous game and regain the top spot. With 16 points from 11 matches, Daredevils are in second place behind KKR, who have 17 points from 12 matches.

This may not be an arduous task for the Daredevils, considering the lacklustre performance of the hosts in the tournament so far. The disastrous show in Tuesday's match against Kings XI Punjab has eliminated whatever little chances they had of a place in the play-offs.

The visitors will be keen to clinch the points against Chargers as they would be facing tough rivals in Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are desperate to find a berth in the play-offs.

However, Daredevils are fully aware that complacency against Chargers could prove costly. The team will keep in mind the lessons it learnt from the defeat in the previous game when it was outplayed by KKR.

In the absence of Kevin Pietersen, who has gone back to England for national duty, Daredevils will be looking to David Warner, whose arrival has bolstered the batting.

Sehwag will also be hoping for Ross Taylor to find the lost touch. Taylor has scored only 107 runs from eight matches.

With just five points from 12 matches, Chargers are the bottom of the table and will be playing to salvage some pride. The hosts will once again be relying on Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White, their most successful batsmen in the tournament. However, the duo failed in Tuesday's match, which Kings XI won by 25 runs.

It was still not clear if Dale Steyn, Chargers' leading wicket taker, will be playing Daredevils. He had to sit out Tuesday due to an injury. (IANS)



By Mohammed Shafeeq