(Cricket news) After the mini covid scare Delhi Capitals bounced back in emphatic fashion when they beat Punjab Kings in the last match. On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals will be on cloud 9 after a thrilling victory over KKR in a high scoring encounter. Both teams will be looking for back to back victories and give their season the much needed momentum.
The Delhi Capitals have been heavily reliant on Prithvi Shaw and David Warner to give them good starts as they have been arguably the most destructive and in-form opening pair in the tournament but that is masking their problems in the middle order. Rishabh Pant has played a couple of cameos but Rovman Powell's form is a serious concern for the DC management . In five innings this season, Powell has scored only 31 runs, at an average of 6.20 and a strike rate of 100.00. In the bowling department the left arm bowlers have been brilliant for them, as they have held a sway over the oppositions batting lineup. Shardul Thakur has the edge over Devdutt Padikkal, dismissing him three times in 19 balls, as the Wankhede pitch will offer a lot of assistance to the left arm swing bowlers early on. Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel will be the key against Shimron Hetymer who is circumspect against wrist spin.
Rajasthan Royals this season have been reliant on three players, Jos Butler, Shimron Hetmyer and Yuzvendra Chahal to win them matches this season. If Buttler has been the chief power-anchor, then Hetmyer has ensured Royals have finished their innings with a crescendo. Among those who have scored at least 200 runs this season, Hetmyer has a strike rate of 179.83 which is the third-highest and both of them have scored more than 57% of Royals' total runs. With the bowl, Chahal is spinning webs around the opposition batters, having picked up 17 wickets in 7 matches already this season. Prithvi Shaw's struggles against Trent Boult as he has been dismissed thrice in 18 balls. The battle between Ashwin and Warner will be one to watch out as the offspinner has dismissed Warner five times in 127 balls while conceding 159 runs.
Pitch and weather report: The trend of winning the toss and bowling first will continue as the Wankhede pitch offers uneven bounce and pace up front, also the dew factor will come into play later on. Defending totals seems to be feasible at the Wankhede as the last two matches were won by teams defending a total. The temperature is going to hover around 33 degrees with no chance of rain.
Interesting facts:
- Royals have the best economy rate (6.72) in the powerplay this season
- Khaleel's economy rate so far this season is 7.15. It is the first time in five IPL seasons that he has gone for less than eight.
- Prithvi Shaw averages just 18.29 against Rajasthan Royals
- No team has hit as many sixes as Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022
- Rajasthan have batted first in five matches this season as Sanju Samson has only won one toss
- Delhi's openers – Warner and Shaw – have put on four consecutive 50-plus stands in IPL 2022
- Also read: M.S Dhoni rolls back the years with thrilling last ball win over MI
Probable XI for DC:
1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Sarfaraz Khan, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Lalit Yadav, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Khaleel Ahmed.
Probable XI for RR:
1 Jos Buttler, 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Karun Nair, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Trent Boult, 9 Obed McCoy, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal.
