(Cricket news) The Delhi Capitals have played 11 games so far in the tournament, and such has been their inconsistency that they are yet to win back-to-back games. On the other hand Rajasthan lost two matches to the two bottom side but bounced back to winning ways against PBKS, RR will be without their star player Shimron Hetmyer for this crucial encounter.
For the RR management there might be a selection headache as Rassie van der Dussen or Jimmy Neesham could be given a go in his absence with RR having played only three overseas players in 4 of the 11 matches so far this season. In the batting department the inclusion of young Yashasvi Jaiswal paid off as he went on to score a 68 which ultimately turned out to be the turning point in the match, if his form persists then RR might just have a deadly opening partnership alongside Jos Butler. In the bowling department all three pacers, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Sen will play a crucial role in restricting them to a low score. RR could bring in Ashwin to bowl in the powerplay to counter the Warner threat with him having dismissed him 5 times. Purple cap leader Yuzvendra Chahal’s battle with fellow leggie Kuldeep Yadav will be one to watch out for as both of the spinners eye a comeback into the T20 side.
DC have been one of the most underperforming teams this season considering the plethora of talent they have in their team. For DC to qualify they can potentially stay in control of their own fate should they win their last three games and in that scenario, their better net run rate could give them an edge when it comes to crunch situations. DC's pacers have been very underwhelming as they have only managed to take 10 wickets in the powerplay, and 13 wickets in the death. Shardul Thakur has been underwhelming with the ball which has hurt the team but they've found respite in Khaleel, who has carried the weight of the bowling attack on his shoulders. He has returned 16 wickets in 32 overs, conceding at 7.75 rpo. In the batting department the majority of the weight is being carried by David Warner as he has scored 375 runs in 9 innings but along with him Rovam Powell is finally showing the world why he is so highly rated as he is playing the finisher role in the squad brilliantly.
Pitch and weather report: In the last two matches at the DY Patil teams defending targets have won as toss won’t be a factor in today's match. The batting becomes difficult as the ball gets old and the trend will likely continue. The temperature is going to hover around 31 degrees with 10% chance of rain as dew shouldn’t play a factor in the second innings.
Interesting facts:
- Prasidh Krishna has dismissed David Warner two times in three innings while conceding 28 runs off 21 balls.
- Jos Buttler has taken Kuldeep Yadav for 54 off 33 balls at a strike rate of 163.63 while being dismissed just once in the IPL.
- Royals have struck 102 sixes, the most by a team this IPL
- In 8 innings against RR, Pant has scored 344 runs, averaging 57.33, striking at 166.69.
- No spin attack has more wickets than Royals' 32 this season
- Axar Patel is one strike away from 100 IPL wickets.
Also read: Rashid, Gill star as GT beat LSG by 62 runs to seal play-off berth
Probable XI for RR:
1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Devdutt Padikkal, 5 Riyan Parag, 6 Jimmy Neesham/Rassie van der Dussen/Daryl Mitchell, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Trent Boult, 9 Prasidh Krishna, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Kuldeep Sen
Probable XI for DC:
1 David Warner, 2 KS Bharat/Prithvi Shaw, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Ripal Patel/Lalit Yadav, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Khaleel Ahmed
