Delhi Capitals (DC) suffered their first defeat of the season on Sunday at their home ground. It wasn’t really a very comprehensive victory that Mumbai Indians (MI) had over them; however, DC have only themselves to blame for the collapse that led to the result going away from them. They have to meet Rajasthan Royals (RR) at their home ground once again in their next fixture, and they will hope to add to RR’s misery in order to shoot back to the top position once again.
That will be necessary for DC to do, with them travelling to face the relentless Gujarat Titans (GT) in their game after this one. So a winning momentum would be most needed against the top-placed GT.
RR have been up and down the positions in the six games they have played so far. They started with two defeats, followed by two wins, and have had two more losses in the most recent games. The clock is ticking, and they would need to get back on the winning track before it’s too late. It might be the worst time to face an opposition as deadly as DC, especially when their batting lineup seems to have given up. But that’s all RR have, and they would need to suffice with it.
Team Overview:
Jake Fraser-McGurk is probably DC’s biggest talking point. This is both a privilege and a downside for the team, as their only problem is their rookie opening batter. But the hopes the side had in him are getting shattered with each match. He has scored only 46 runs in five games so far, including two noughts. There has not been a pattern to his dismissals, but he has shown some vulnerability to pace, having lost his wickets four out of five times to them. DC might look to replace him with Faf du Plessis if he is fit before the game. Axar Patel has gone for over nine runs per over this season, that too, without any scalps to his name. In the presence of Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam, though, the impact has not affected the team much.
RR’s top-order batters have not arrived fully yet, the middle order has crumbled under the pressure more often than not, and the bowlers have failed to hold their ground. This pretty much explains their eighth-place standing right now. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s gradual return to form is one of the very few positives for Rajasthan. Nitish Rana entered below Shimron Hetmyer in the last game, and he expressed his satisfaction with batting at whichever position his team wants him to. RR might look to rest Tushar Deshpande in the game against DC after he went for 21 in two overs in the last game.
Head-to-Head Matches:
In 29 games both teams have played against each other, 15 were won by Rajasthan, while DC came out on top in 14.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Delhi looked like a classic belter in the last few games played here (one T20I and an IPL game this season), so a run-fest in this game should not really be a surprise for anyone. Spinners took nine wickets in the only IPL game played here at this venue, so that should be the way to target for both teams.
Where to Watch:
India: Star Sports Network, JioHotstar
UK: Sky Sports, SkyGo
USA: Willow TV
Australia: Kayo TV, FoxTel Go
Bangladesh: T Sports, Toffee app
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
Afghanistan: ATN
South Africa: SuperSport
Sri Lanka: Dialog
MENA: Cricbuzz
