Warriors on Devils' trail

With two wins in a row, Yuvi's men will hope to keep the momentum going. Amol Karhadkar reports.

After a gruelling three-hour practice session by the Delhi Daredevils, Irfan Pathan and David Warner got together for a lengthy discussion at the Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium on Saturday.

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If the most expensive player in the Daredevils' line-up and the Australian Twenty20 specialist can team up against Pune Warriors India on Sunday, then the Delhi team can hope to avoid a hat-trick of defeats and open their account IPL-4.

If either Warner or Pathan come good with the bat, that would take the pressure off skipper Virender Sehwag. With a batting line-up as unreliable as it has been in the first two games, if two of these three don't fire, the Daredevils cannot even think of winning.

With the Warriors having a long batting line-up, it becomes crucial for at least two of them to stay out for as long as they can. The Warriors, the only unbeaten team in the league, have much less to worry about. Despite losing all-rounder Angelo Mathews and Ashish Nehra due to injuries before their campaign started, they have got the right combination.

However, if either Graeme Smith or Rahul Sharma - recovering after they collided while attempting a catch against Kochi Tuskers on Wednesday - is unfit to play, it remains to be seen if the change affects the team in any way.

Pune are favourites in the battle between the team that's yet to win and the one that's yet to lose.