DC aims to push upward against an SRH that is stuttering.

On the verge of elimination, Sunrisers Hyderabad will play the faltering DC at home on Monday, May 5, in an attempt to salvage their IPL 2025 campaign.

With 12 points from 10 games, the DC are narrowly outside the qualifying bracket.

After a season that began with a record-breaking start, they have found it difficult to maintain the pace once they have returned home. Midway through their campaign, Delhi lost three of their final four games after winning five of their first six. The last stretch of the competition will only be more difficult for Axar & Co. with just four games left and the final three games after Monday against teams that are all now higher in the standings.

Delhi’s batting hasn’t performed well as a team in either of their recent losses, even if several players have put up their hands in each innings. Since all of their remaining games are in high-scoring locations, it will be up to the batting staff to step up and give their best performances in order to help DC earn a spot in the playoffs. Delhi is encouraged by the return of Faf du Plessis, who scored a half-century in the team’s most recent game, even though KL Rahul has taken responsibility well and is the team’s top run scorer.

But for the team, batter Axar Patel has been a revelation. Axar, who was elevated to captain following the massive auction, has generally performed well in games by moving up in the batting order when necessary and contributing with big hits. Despite not taking many wickets—which he attributed to a pre-tournament injury—he has also led the team brilliantly with the ball. Delhi will be worried about his match fitness if he were to hurt his bowling hand again in the most recent game. A five-day break for Delhi should have helped them recuperate after he made a useful cameo in a losing cause in the chase that followed, suggesting it might not have been a major issue.

Despite keeping the seasoned nucleus of the Class of ’24 that finished second to KKR, SRH’s campaign swiftly went awry. With just one victory in their first five games and two in their last five, Hyderabad has battled to even escape the bottom half of the standings this season, whereas at this time last year they were comfortably in the top four. With four games remaining and six points against their name, SRH mathematically survives; even if they went on a winning streak from this point on, they would still need other outcomes to go their way.

When: 7:30 PM IST on Monday, May 5.

Where: Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium

Anticipation: The location seems to favour the batters. Even though SRH only has a 2-3 win-loss record at home, they do hold the distinction of being the first club to successfully defend a total here. In the past five IPL 2025 games played here, chasing teams have won four of them. Otherwise, anticipate clear skies and no rain to interfere.

Between SRH 13 and 12 DC, head-to-head. The two clubs have defeated one another three times in six games played in Hyderabad.

Teams Keep an Eye on

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Injuries/Unavailability: The hosts have not received any reports of injuries.

Strategies & Matchups: Despite a wildly uneven season for the 2024 finalists, Abhishek Sharma has been one of SRH’s better hitters. He’s got a solid record versus DC’s top players. [13 balls | 38 runs | 2 dismissals] Kuldeep Yadav.

Most likely XII: Pat Cummins (C), Aniket Verma, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, and Mohammed Shami

Delhi Capitals

Axar’s left hand was hurt on the pitch during DC’s most recent match against KKR in Delhi, but he was able to bat again during the chase. at addition, there are no issues with availability at Delhi’s camp.

Strategies & Matchups: Mitchell Starc, who has already removed Travis Head twice in seven deliveries in the IPL, will be crucial in upsetting SRH in Hyderabad early on.

Axar Patel (C), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Dushmantha Chameera, Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh Sharma, Abishek Porel (wk), Karun Nair, KL Rahul (wk), and Faf du Plessis are the likely XII.

Were you aware?

– In the season’s first three games, Travis Head’s strike rate was 191.55. That has drastically decreased over the next seven games to 133.

Since 2024, Mitchell Starc has taken ten wickets in four IPL games against SRH.

What they stated

We took a little pause to reflect, reset, and rethink the situation. We’ve been off for a few days. As a team, we have thus had time to regroup and return to our strengths. Peaking at the appropriate moment is important, isn’t it? And with four games remaining, it is the ideal time to begin.” Karun Nair

“They’re crucial, in my opinion, for both the franchise and for people. No matter what, I believe there’s always a desire to end the season strong, and we know that doing so may boost the team’s confidence moving forward.” Daniel Vettori, head coach of SRH