With Shreyas Iyer tipped to make his return, newly retained captain Rishabh Pant is set to face a stiff captaincy test as Delhi Capitals (DC) lock horns with former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Tuesday. Title contenders Delhi Capitals will kickstart their campaign in the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 against a struggling Hyderabad franchise led by Kane Williamson at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. 

A solitary win from seven games which include six defeats has pushed Sunrisers Hyderabad at the last spot of the IPL 2021 standings. After Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) win over Mumbai Indians (MI), Pant’s Delhi Capitals found themselves on the second spot with 12 points from eight games. Laggards Sunrisers Hyderabad had played out a thrilling Super Over clash with Delhi Capitals when both teams last met at MA Chidambaram Stadium in the first phase of the IPL 2021. 

SRH opener David Warner was stripped off from captaincy midway through the 14th season of the cash-rich league. Warner was not only sacked from captainship but the SRH opener was also not named in Hyderabad’s playing XI for their last IPL encounter against Rajasthan Royals. Talking about the Hyderabad and Delhi rivalry in the IPL, SRH are ahead of DC in the head-to-head record. DC have won 8 matches against SRH while the 2016 champions have beaten last year’s finalists on 11 occasions.  

Sunrisers Hyderabad had also recorded a double over Delhi Capitals in UAE last year. Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Williamson has scored 471 runs against Delhi in the IPL. DC captain Pant has smashed 431 runs against Williamson & Co. and his career-best knock of 128 also came against the 2016 champions. Rashid Khan is the leading wicket-taker (14) in the SRH vs DC fixtures while Kagiso Rabada has scalped 11 wickets against Hyderabad in the cash-rich league.