Match Preview: Delhi Waveriders v/s UP Wizards

Venue: Dhyan Chand Astroturf Stadium, Lucknow (Capacity–10,000)

Date: 19^th January

Time: 11 30 am IST

Broadcaster: ESPN (English Commentary) and Star Cricket (Hindi Commentary)

The UP Wizards will play their first home match in Lucknow tomorrow when table toppers Delhi Waveriders travel to Lucknow for their third league match. Both teams are so far unbeaten in the competition and will be going into the match confident of continuing their run. Delhi, who resisted a late fight back from Mumbai to win their last match, will be well rested and eagerly looking forward to this match whereas the Wizards will be keen to impress their home crowd in what will be their first glimpse of the team. The match will also be a test of the UP team’s fitness who played Punjab in Jalandhar on the 17^th.

Players to look out for:

Teun De Nooijer – The three time World Player of the year will have to be kept quiet in the midfield if Delhi are to get anything out of this match.

UP: Teun De Nooijer - The Dutch midfield ace and the highest paid player in the league was the focal point of all his team’s attacks in their win again Punjab. He will once again try and pull the strings in the midfield, so containing him in the centre will be a tough task for the Delhi defence. Fellow Dutchman Jeroen Hertzberger also looked lethal in front of goal. Defender VR Raghunath and Spanish midfielder David Alegre are other players who are capable of turning the match on its head.

Lloyd Norris Jones – The South African has shown that he can be a tough customer to deal with upfront.

Delhi: Lloyd Norris Jones – The well built South-African showed great composure and strength while leading the line for the Waveriders in their game against Mumbai and his finishing will be critical to Delhi’s performance as they have seen a lot of good chances being wasted due to profligacy in front of goal. Midfielder Sardara will once again be at the centre of things and will try and control things in the middle. The combination of Mujtaba and Walmiki on the wings was dangerous the other night and UP will have to be wary of the threat the duo might pose today.

Injuries :

UP: None so far.

Delhi : No injuries, apart from expert drag-flicker Taeke Taekema who has been ruled out of the tournament.

Coaches:

UP - Roelant Oltmans (Netherlands)

Delhi – AK Bansal (India)

Score Prediction: The Wizards showed great team-chemistry and were fluid with their movements in the match against the Warriors and with an inexperienced Delhi defence, I’ll go with a 3-1 win for the Wizards.

Did You Know: Wizards’ Marquee player Teun De Nooijer (Netherlands) is the player with the most number of International appearances, amassing more than 500 appearances during his career which spanned over a decade.