IPL 2018: Will downbeat Delhi Daredevils get home advantage vs KXIP today?

In the 22nd match of Indian Premier League (IPL 2018), Delhi Daredevils will take on Kings XI Punjab at their home ground, Ferozshah Kotla in New Delhi. Bruised and battered after a string of defeats, Delhi Daredevils find themselves in an 'oh-so-familiar' situation -- at the bottom of the the Vivo IPL points table -- as they look to cash in on home advantage against a Chris Gayle-inspired Kings XI Punjap in today's IPL match. Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, will look to beat Delhi and pip Chennai Super Kings for the top position on the points table.

Delhi Daredevils have been the least impressive of all teams in the past few seasons of Indian Premier League, only managing to finish in the bottom half of the IPL points table. In the previous two seasons, Delhi Daredevils ended their campaign at the sixth position, was a place lower in 2015, and finished last in IPL 2014. Once again in IPL 2018, they are having a bad time. They started their IPL 2018 campaign after losing their first two games against KXIP and Rajasthan Royals. Delhi clinched their first win against Mumbai Indians, thanks to a fine knock by foreign buy Jason Roy and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant.

Overconfidence, injury, dropped catch: Story of SRH's first IPL 2018 loss

Who starts an IPL match as the favourite is both a matter of perception and numbers on paper. The real pressure is on the team that knows it is entering the game as the favourite. Similar was the case with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in its Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) match against King XI Punjab (KXIP) in Mohali on April 19. On paper, having won all the three matches played till then, SRH were the clear favourites. However, after beating Chennai Super Kings in a nail-biter and Chirs Gayle's fired-up performance, even KXIP looked no less, especially as they were playing on their home ground.

Playing at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Thursday, Kings XI Punjab won the toss and decided to bat first. From that moment, a series of unfortunate events kept catching SRH every now and then. KXIP's Chirs Gayle, it seemed, picked up his innings from where he had left it in the previous match against Chennai Super Kings. He took some time to settle down and it did seem that SRH bowlers might get the better of him. But that was not meant to be. Rashid Khan did trouble him a little in his first over, as Gayle did not read him well and edged one to the keeper. Luckily for him, Wriddhman Saha dropped it.