Hyderabad, May 4 : Hello and welcome for match 48 of the Indian T20 League. It is Hyderabad who are hosting Delhi. The hosts are on 12 points and will have to play carefully from here on as they have a good chance of getting a spot in the play-offs. Delhi on the other hand have been poor all season and have 6 points to their credit. They have to play out of their skins to entertain any hopes of making it into the last four.

Delhi have won the toss and elected to bat

Teams :

Delhi (Playing XI): Mahela Jayawardene(c), Virender Sehwag, Unmukt Chand, David Warner, Kedar Jadhav(w), Jeevan Mendis, Irfan Pathan, Johan Botha, Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav, Ashish Nehra

Hyderabad (Playing XI): Parthiv Patel(w), Shikhar Dhawan, Hanuma Vihari, Kumar Sangakkara(c), Thisara Perera, Darren Sammy, Karan Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Amit Mishra, Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma

Sangakkara: 'We would have also batted first. We are playing an unchanged team. It was a good game against Mumbai. We did all the basics right. Shikhar Dhawan has added substance to the team. Delhi are a very good side, they will come hard at us. We need to absorb all the pressure and do well. The wicket looks good for batting.'

Mahela: 'We will bat first. We just need to concentrate and get as many runs as we can. Two changes in our team, Ben Rohrer has gone back home for his marriage, Jeevan Mendis replaces him. Botha replaces Morne Morkel. We need to play well as a unit. We are in a situation that we ourselves created. Hopefully, we will get back to our best. We have had injuries this season, that has forced us to bat Warner down the order. The wicket looks slow and low, we need to play some scrappy cricket.'

Virender Sehwag and David Warner have scored hundreds in the previous editions at Hyderabad. It is very interesting to see the combination of both the sides today. We will get the official word from the captains in a short while. Stay tuned for the toss..

Preview

Two teams which have only recently recovered from poor form will square off when Delhi and Hyderabad clash tomorrow in a Indian T20 League match with both sides aiming to continue the winning run and stay alive in the event. The match is crucial for both the teams are in the lower half of the points table with Delhi being second last right now.

Hyderabad

The lethal bowling attack comprising world number one Dale Steyn, medium-pacer Ishant Sharma, wily leg-spinner Amit Mishra, the dependable Thisara Perera and in-form Karan Sharma has played a crucial role in their victories against some of the formidable teams like Mumbai.

Though batting had been an area of concern for HYD, it has also shown marked improvement of late with the return of Shikhar Dhawan and West Indies Captain Darren Sammy. Dhawan single-handedly led his team to victory against Mumbai on Wednesday by making 73 unbeaten runs (55 balls, 9x4, 1x6). Captain Kumar Sangakkara, who had been out of form, also showed glimpses of his brilliance in the match by making useful 21 runs.

Young Hyderabad players like G Hanuma Vihari, who scored 25 runs (23b, 2x4) in the match against Mumbai, and Akshat Reddy also contributed their bit for the team`s recent success.

Not surprisingly, Coach Tom Moody has attributed his team`s success to the collective effort of the players.

Delhi

On the other hand, Delhi have just managed to survive in the competition by defeating Kolkata by seven wickets on May 1.

However, it can take solace from the brilliant show of Australia`s David Warner, who played a blistering knock of 66 runs and young Unmukt Chand (37, 4x4), which helped the team win the last match.

However, seasoned players like Virender Sehwag, Captain Mahela Jayawardane, Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra and Morne Morkel need to come up with splendid performances to make matters difficult for Hyderabad.

Team standings and form: Delhi have six points from 10 matches, while Hyderabd have bagged 12 from the same number of matches. Hyderabd have enjoyed a dream run at home, winning all the matches played there so far.

Quotes:

We are taking it match by match. We have set small goals for ourselves not big goals of reaching semi-finals. Already we have played 10 matches. We lost seven. It is difficult to think that we will win every game. We are trying to win those games but we don't want to put too much pressure on ourselves. We are trying our best. That is it: Delhi pacer Umesh Yadav.