DD vs RPS Match Prediction: Who will win the match between Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune Supergiants, IPL 2016, Match 33

The Rising Pune Supergiants travel to Delhi to take on the mighty Delhi Daredevils in the game No. 33 of the Vivo IPL, 2016. If the current form is anything to go by, expect Delhi to win comfortably. However, Delhi could be in for a rude shock if complacency flows into their game. MS Dhoni's Supergiants have struggled to get any sort of momentum in this tournament but they would like to remind people that they are no pushovers.

On a given day they do have the firepower to upset any side. Delhi would like to keep going from strength to strength and will treat this game as an important step to inch closer to that elusive place in the playoffs. Under Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan, the Daredevils have used the horses for courses approach when it has come down to selecting players according to the playing conditions.

The daredevilry shown by the Daredevils so far, in terms of playing an aggressive brand of cricket, has to be applauded. They should enjoy the home conditions for this game and start clear favourites.

Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

Match Date: May 05, 2016

Match timings: 2000 hrs IST

If Rising Pune Supergiants bat first

Predicted score: 160 and above

The Supergiants have been extremely unlucky with untimely injuries to key players wreaking havoc to their campaign. They have now lost Steve Smith after Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Marsh. It is indeed a massive setback for Pune since the Australian skipper had shown tremendous form and also scored a wonderful century couple of games back.

Saurabh Tiwary showed some good form in the last game but slowed down towards the end. He may be replaced at the top by Usman Khawaja who has recently joined the Supergiants. Khawaja had been in excellent touch during the world cup and also in the Big Bash league. Rahane had a rare failure in the last game after he played an uncharacteristic shot which brought upon his downfall. He will be keen to make amends.

Another new recruit, George Bailey could come in at 3 with MS Dhoni and Thisara Perera occupying the middle order. The former Kings XI Punjab skipper, Bailey brings vast IPL experience with him and he will be keen to play the role of an anchor for his team. Dhoni should also think of adding rookie batsman Baba Aparajith to add some teeth to the batting.

Expect Pune to score somewhere around 160 to pose a challenge for the in-form Delhi batting. The bowling has to back it up, but unfortunately the Supergiants' bowling attack looks flat and clueless at the moment. Bowling looks unsettled for the Supergiants. Irfan Pathan might get a look in along with the experienced Ishant Sharma. Instead of Scott Boland, Dhoni could try bringing in the Aussie leg-spinner Adam Zampa. Zampa could join the Ashwin duo as he could be extremely handy on a spin friendly Kotla wicket.

R Ashwin will be under tremendous pressure to come up with the goods for his franchise. Kotla has been a happy hunting ground for him in the past and he would like to bowl the Supergiants to a position of strength. Expect Dhoni and his men to keep fighting in a bid to stay afloat in this IPL.

If Delhi Daredevils bat first

Predicted score: 180 and above

Quinton de Kock and the new sensation Rishabh Pant notched up a sensational partnership in the previous game and they will surely give the jitters to the Pune camp. The margin for error is very little against these two as they would pounce on anything that is loose. The rest of the batting has been clinical with exciting young players like Sanju Samson and Karun Nair punching above their weights.

JP Duminy and Sam Billings could provide the impetus with some calculated hitting towards the fag end of the innings. Expect Delhi to notch up a huge score of around 180 if the Supergiants don't get their strategies right.

Zaheer Khan has been a revelation as a skipper and his fresh approach towards captaincy has been one of the highlights of the tournament. His performance with the ball too has been on the money. Chris Morris and Mohammed Shami have been fantastic with Morris bowling really accurately.

Amit Mishra has bowled with a lot of control and has managed to break partnerships on a consistent basis. Shahbaz Nadeem and JP Duminy will look to do a decent holding job. Expect Delhi Daredevils to ride the momentum and beat the Supergiants comfortably.

Probable Winners: Delhi Daredevils