Indian Premier League on Sky Sports Cricket - today's action
Sunday 29 April 2018 09:22, UK
Here's what's in store in the Indian Premier League today...
Today's game
It's a new dawn for Delhi - and, boy, do they need one! Shreyas Iyer will lead the Daredevils after Gautam Gambhir stepped down as skipper on Wednesday following a disastrous start to the tournament.
Live Indian Premier League
Kolkata, for their part, are locked in a mid-table melee and could do with a run of wins to fulfil their not-so-lofty aspirations of pushing on towards a play-off place.
How have the teams done so far?
To be frank, it's been disastrous for Delhi - Gambhir exiting the captaincy stage left after a terrible run that has seen the Daredevils pick up just one win from six games. That sole success came against fellow flops Mumbai Indians. Unsurprisingly, Delhi are rock-bottom of the show. Gambhir, who has scored just 85 runs in five innings, will continue as player and mentor and has the backing of coach Ricky Ponting.
Kolkata, for their part, are sat fourth in the table with a decent-enough return of three wins from six games but have yet to lay siege to the upper positions - a nine-wicket DLS defeat to Kings XI Punjab on their last outing scuppering a run of back-to-back successes.
One thing to ponder: the last time these two sides met, Delhi were bundled out for 129 inside 15 overs to lose by 71 runs as Andre Russell blasted 41 off 12 balls.
Ones to watch
Rishabh Pant has, without a doubt, been the standout contributor to Delhi's scores - chalking up 227 runs at an average of 38. His 85 off 48 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, all be it in a losing cause, was just the type of knock to drag the Daredevils up by their bootlaces and much more of that will be required if the franchise is to salvage some pride.
Russell remains box office for Kolkata but the way that Sunil Narine has grown into the tournament will only bolster that play-off goal. His 3-18 in that crunching victory against Daredevils is the pick of a solid start. More to come, you'd think.
Which England players could feature?
Jason Roy has his fingers crossed after sitting out the defeat to Kings XI - a match in which Liam Plunkett marked his IPL debut with three wickets. After bench-warming during last year's IPL, Roy will be desperate to return to action and repeat his smashing 91no against Mumbai.
If he makes the cut, he could face fellow Surrey star Tom Curran who so far has five wickets to his name from four matches at a very respectable 17 runs apiece. There's work to do on his economy rate, though, which is currently the second-worst in the franchise at 11.86.
Who is in the studio?
Presenter Matt Floyd is joined by a cracking double act - James Taylor and Jonny Bairstow, who'll offer a wealth of insight and analysis on the game. Plus, watch out for Dominic Cork's first appearance at the IPL!
Sky Sports will continue to show every IPL game live, so fans from all over can enjoy the best of Indian cricket.
