Champions Leagur T20 - Know the Teams - Delhi Daredevils

If it was Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir who stole the thunder for the Daredevils in IPL-1, then it was AB de Villiers and Tilakaratne Dilshan who were the star performers with the bat in IPL-2. All it took was one bad show with the bat against Rajasthan Royals for the talented team from Delhi to be ousted from the IPL-2. In IPL-2, it was a different story - the Daredevils came face to face with a red hot Adam Gilchrist in the semis. The Daredevils qualified for the Champions Leage by virtue of having topped the table in the League stage. Drawn in Group D, the Daredevils (D1) play their first match against the Victorian Bushrangers (D2) on the 9th of October. The Daredevils will be without AB de Villiers, Dave Warner (representing NSW Blues) and Daniel Vettori. This should enable Glen McGrath have a bowl after having had to sit out the IPL-2. Daredevils also have a new captain in Gautam Gambhir, after Sehwag's decision to forego the captaincy in favour of his close friend and fellow opener.

Match Record:

Matches Played - 30
Matches Won - 17
Matches Lost - 13

Playes to watch out for:

Batsmen -
Virender Sehwag all are familiar with his one liners "have bat, will hit" or "the ball is meant to be hit" and he must be raring to have a go after a long rest to recovery from injury. As expected, he has the best strike rate for his side (and maybe of the whole lot); Tilakaratne Dilshan - is rediscovering himself as a destructive batsman and could be at his most dangerous if captain Gambhir decides to come in at number 3, giving Dilshan to have a go at the bowers first; Gautam Gambhir is in the form of his life and, even though is the least flashy compared to Sehwag and Dilshan, is the most likely to get the most runs once settled. It remains to be seen if the burden of captaincy affects his scoring ability and one hopes that it does not for he is the side's leading run accumulator; Dinesh Karthik many may find it strange to see his name here, but Karthik is quite capable of proving everyone wrong but being a match-winner, specially if the wicket is not conducive to stroke play.

Bowlers -
Ashish Nehra made his way back into Team India on the strength of his good showing in IPL-2 and has continued to impress since his comeback; Dirk Nannes Dutch or Aussie, the guy is quick. The team will rely on his ability to get an early breakthrough; Glen McGrath - the old master of line and length can still be relied upon to produce a tight spell and account for some wickets to boot; Amit Mishra is the side's leading wicket taker' has a hat-trick in T20s and should shoulder the spin burden in the absence of Vettori.