DD keen to change fortunes at home

Lying at the bottom of the IPL table, Delhi Daredevils will be eager to turn the tide against Kings XI Punjab here at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Monday.

In their maiden home game of this campaign, Gautam Gambhir will look to put on a winning run to take them back into contention for the top four playoff positions. The last time Delhi reached the playoff was in 2012. Unless they quickly regroup and star producing the desired results, Monday's hosts have to be content with a place outside the top four yet again.

In their last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi were battered by AB de Villiers' belligerent unbeaten knock of 90 from 39 balls. Thanks to de Villiers' blitz, the Bengaluru outfit chased down the 175-run target with 12 balls to spare.

Delhi have won only one of their five matches in this season so far.

They have failed to collectively click as a group and are yet to see their big name players take the tournament by storm.

All the pre-tournament talk was about the return of local lad Gautam Gambhir. He had consistently delivered with the bat for Kolkata Knight Riders and was a key component of their two-title winning campaigns.

He has managed just 81 runs in the first five matches. Except for a decent 55 against Monday's opponent, Punjab, in the first outing, Gambhir has struggled for runs.

Jason Roy is another player on a given day can destroy any bowling attack. He showed his ability in the only win of Delhi's season against Mumbai with a blistering 91. But, he has struggled for runs in the other two matches he played this season. Explosive Glenn Maxwell is another who is yet to find his rhythm. He has shown glimpses of his abilities, but he is yet to truly fulfill his potential.

On the back of a decent fifty against RCB, Shreyas Iyer will look to build on it at the Kotla.

The biggest positive for the side has been from their wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant. He has been consistently scoring runs at will, with 223 runs to his name from five games.

U-19 stars Manjot Kalra and Prithvi Shaw are yet to get a look in at the side. The team might change their approach in their home games and might accommodate one or both of them in the squad.

The bowlers have been equally off-colour for Delhi.

The likes of Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Shami and Dan Christian have struggled to impose themselves.

Shami has struggled for rhythm and has been really expensive with the ball. In the four matches, he has managed three wickets at a staggering economy rate of 10.40.

Trent Boult has been the only positive with seven wickets. Experienced leg-spinner Amit Mishra has played just the one game so far, he might get a look in to freshen things up.

Punjab, on the other hand, have been a revelation this season.

Their opening duo of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle has been in stellar form.

Gayle destroyed Sunrisers Hyderabad with a stunning century and notched two more fifties in the other two matches he played. His return to form will be bad news for bowlers.

Rahul has so far asserted himself as a T20 batsman, forming a deadly opening combination with Gayle. Rahul also has two fifties to his name.

However Yuvraj Singh's struggling form will be KXIP's biggest concern.

Led by skipper R Ashwin, they have a good bowling unit in Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma and Axar Patel.

Punjab will be flying high after recent success, while Delhi will try to use their home advantage to return back to winning ways.