IPL 2026, SRH vs DC 31st Match Match Preview – Sixes vs stability

Ravi Singh

6 hours ago

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Big picture: A tale of two top orders

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals (DC) are neck-and-neck on the points table, but their top-order approaches couldn’t be more different: SRH’s top three have been the most explosive in IPL 2026, scoring at a run rate of 11.65, while DC sit ninth on that chart at 9.28.

Neither method is inherently superior to the other. Conditions, targets and bowling quality shape outcomes as much as intent does. But with Hyderabad expected to serve up a high-scoring surface, DC may need to edge closer to SRH’s template – at least for a night – by winning a few key top-order battles.

The first is six-hitting. DC’s top three have hit just 12 sixes across five games, the lowest among all teams. SRH, by contrast, have struck 34, setting the tone early and consistently.

The second concern is the No. 3 spot. While DC have corrected last season’s instability at the top, when they used seven combinations, the one-down position remains unsettled. Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, and Karun Nair have returned scores of 15, 0, 5, 6 and 5 between them in that position, all at strike rates below 100. The result has often been two quick wickets, stalling any momentum built in the powerplay.

SRH, in contrast, have found balance despite Travis Head being well below his best. The quick returns of Abhishek Sharma and the solidity offered by Ishan Kishan at No. 3 have allowed smooth transitions into their power-packed middle order, where Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy have taken over.

That said, DC’s strength lies in their experienced middle order. Axar Patel, along with the South African pair of David Miller and Tristan Stubbs, form a capable engine room that could exploit SRH’s relatively inexperienced bowling in the latter half of the innings.

Among those bowlers, Eshan Malinga stands out for his ability to generate reverse swing, a potential game-changer. But as the season progresses, opposition batters may begin to decode younger bowlers like Pravin Hinge and Sakib Hussain more easily.

Neither team is perfect, but perfection is not necessary when trying to win head-to-heads. Application of skills and match awareness can often trump quality, and even though DC may be slightly behind, they very much have the wares to leave Hyderabad with two points.

Form guide

Sunrisers Hyderabad WLLWW
Delhi Capitals WWLLW

Key question

Team news

In SRH’s last game, against Chennai Super Kings, Kishan had said at the toss that Dilshan Madushanka would be part of their playing XII, but he wasn’t fielded, with the team opting for Liam Livingstone’s inclusion midway through their batting innings. The final overseas player spot will remain a toss-up between the two.

Pat Cummins remains unavailable, with his return tentatively planned for the April 25 game against Rajasthan Royals. Gerald Coetzee has replaced the injured David Payne in the squad, but there’s no word on his availability for Tuesday’s game.

Sunrisers Hyderabad 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Travis Head, 3 Ishan Kishan (capt), 4 Aniket Verma, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Salil Arora (wk), 8 Liam Livingstone/Dilshan Madushanka, 9 Shivang Kumar, 10 Eshan Malinga, 11 Pravin Hinge, 12 Sakib Hussain.

Axar retired hurt with muscle cramps during DC’s last outing, but head coach Hemang Badani said on match eve that he is fit to start. There’s no clear frontrunner for DC’s No. 3, and the final batting spot in the team may be a toss-up between Karun Nair and Ashutosh Sharma.

DC also have Prithvi Shaw, Rana and Abishek Porel as potential batting options. At least two of them could slot in as openers, and if DC do that, then Pathum Nissanka could go back to the bench and open up a spot for Kyle Jamieson or Dushmantha Chameera. Mitchell Starc is still not available.

Delhi Capitals 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 KL Rahul (wk), 3 Sameer Rizvi, 4 Axar Patel (capt), 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Karun Nair/Ashutosh Sharma, 8 Auqib Nabi, 9 Lungi Ngidi, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mukesh Kumar, 12 T Natarajan.

In the spotlight: Travis Head and Kuldeep Yadav

Travis Head‘s recent numbers in Hyderabad are unlike him. He had a strike rate of only 115 in a 20-ball innings against CSK and, before that, a strike rate of only 100 in an 18-ball innings against Rajasthan Royals. Even the 36 he scored against Punjab Kings looked scratchy, with a fair few mishits finding the boundary. The definitive Head innings is yet to be seen this season. The last time SRH beat DC, Head scored a 32-ball 89. Can he produce an encore on Tuesday?

Kuldeep Yadav has had Jekyll-and-Hyde outings in his last two games against SRH. The last time he faced them, he dazzled with 3 for 22 by running through the middle order. But in the fixture before that, he was smacked for 55 runs as SRH posted 266. Kuldeep’s wristspin against SRH’s batters will be among the most anticipated battles of the night.

Pitch and conditions

Pitch No. 2 in Hyderabad is an absolute belter in evening fixtures. This is the strip where SRH scored 277 against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024 and failed to defend even 245 against Punjab Kings last season. In a day game last season, SRH also pumped 286 against Rajasthan Royals. The only anomaly is the fixture against MI last season, where the match was a 143 meets 146 contest.

Stats and trivia

Since IPL 2025, Eshan Malinga has the second-best bowling strike rate -13.0 (min. 200 balls). Malinga also has the second-best average (14.5) between overs 11-20.

The numbers for DC’s No. 3 batting position are the worst across all metrics – they are last in total runs (31), batting average (6.2), strike rate (78), and boundaries (six).

KL Rahul needs 50 runs to go past MS Dhoni and become the IPL’s sixth-highest run-getter.

Quotes

“If I have to answer this in a nutshell, this format does not rely on consistency. It relies on impact. It relies on seizing the moment. It relies on stepping up when it really matters. And I think we have done that.”
Hemang Badani, DC head coach

Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx

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