Richard Mann previews this afternoon's IPL action between Dehli Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad and has a strong fancy.
Recommended bets: Dehli Daredevils v Sunrisers Hyderabad
4pts Sunrisers Hyderabad to beat Dehli Daredevils at 8/11
1pt Bhuvneshwar Kumar to be top Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler at 11/4
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Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Dehli Daredevils by seven wickets when the two sides met in Deccan last week and look a good bet at 8/11 to repeat the dose this afternoon.
Sunrisers are in the middle of a real purple patch at present, winning each of their last five games, having developed a wonderful habit of coming out on the right side of tight finishes.
This was again evident on Sunday when Kane Williamson's excellent bowling attack was able to defend 146 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
As can often be the case with the boys in orange, Sunrisers looked short of runs at the halfway stage but could once again rely on their outstanding battery of bowlers who were comfortably able to defend only 62 from the last eight overs, even with RCB danger man Colin de Grandhomme batting through until the final ball of the innings.
In truth, it was a masterclass in how to bowl at the death, spinners Rashid Khan and Shakib Al Hasan proving very hard to take down and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sandeep Sharma a threat with the new ball and miserly with the old one.
Another spirited performance from @SunRisers tonight!
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) May 7, 2018
Brilliant defensive execution by all our bowlers, well played #OrangeArmy #SRH
Kumar's return to the side has been a huge boost for Williamson and he was the difference between winning losing on Sunday.
With only 25 to defend 18 balls, Kumar's 18th over only went for six runs - four of which came off a genuine outside edge - before he closed out the game with a final over where he only conceded just four.
His execution of yorkers puts him at the top of tree in this form of the game and his deceptive changes of pace continue to improve as he evolves into a wonderful bowler.
Williamson spoke on Sunday about using Kumar more at the death going forward, which should open up more wicket-taking opportunities for the seamer, and he looks worth supporting to be the top Sunrisers bowler at 11/4.
Khan takes up a huge chunk of the market at 9/4, and it is easy to see why, but Kumar's IPL2018 strike-rate of 19.7 is only marginally above Rashid's 18.4 and with Kumar working his way back into top form and likely to be bowling at least half of his allotment at the end of the innings, he must be backed at those prices.
David Warner's well-documented absence from this year's tournament left Sunrisers with a huge hole to fill on the batting front and while any team would miss a player of his ability, Alex Hales appears to be settling into the job well at the top of the order and there have been signs of late that Shakib is nearing his best with the bat.
As for Dehli, IPL2018 has been one that has promised plenty but ultimately delivered disappointingly little.
Only three wins in the campaign so far see them rooted to the foot of the table but they have played a bit better than that and narrow losses to Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings could have easily gone the other way and boosted their season.
Last week's seven-wicket loss to Sunrisers was another example of Dehli playing well and coming close, before ultimately falling at the final hurdle.
Dehli would have fancied pulling off a shock when Sunrisers needed 14 from the final over but once again, Hyderabad found a way to get over the line.
That should be the case again today, though it will be fascinating to watch Dehli's promising young batting line up - which includes Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant - do battle with Williamson's wonderful bowling riches once again.
Posted at 1050 BST on 10/05/18.
