Till it met Mumbai Indians, the Delhi Capitals looked invincible. But that one match exposed some seeming chinks in its armour. The Delhi franchise batting looks vulnerable, despite the decent form of KL Rahul, and the fine comeback of Karun Nair. At the top, its Aussie opener and the South African middle-order bat Jake Fraser-McGurk and Tristan Stubbs are not firing. Its bowling overly dependent on Mitchell Starc and Kuldip Yadav has been firing in fits and starts only.
But its problems are relatively manageable considering the ones faced by its opponent tonight, Rajasthan Royals.
The match, which will happen at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, is pivotal for both teams as one aims to stay near the top while the other wants to stop its slide.
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Save for the blip against MI, DC has been in good rhythm this season, winning four out of their five matches. Its unbeaten streak was halted when it fell short by 12 runs in a chase of 172 against MI. Despite the loss, DC remains one of the top contenders and could reclaim the first spot on the points table with a win tonight.
RR, on the other hand, is struggling for consistency, managing only two wins in six matches. It is currently eighth on the points table and having lost its last two games. A victory tonight is crucial for RR to keep is playoff hopes alive.
DC and RR have faced each other 29 times in IPL history, and the win equation is close: RR - 15 and DC - 14. The last encounter between these two teams in May 2024 saw DC emerge victorious in a closely contested match.
Rahul, as we said, is in good form DC and he will be the one anchoring the innings tonight too. Starc, the Australian pacer, has been lethal with the new ball, swinging it both ways to trouble batters. On a comeback, Karun Nair was in sublime touch against MI. He would like to prove that it was no flash in the pan. A couple of good innings from now on can even put him in the reckoning for national selection.
Sanju Samson, the RR captain and wicketkeeper-batter, hasn't really gotten going. So is the case of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who despite scoring a handy half-century in the last game, is still far from his fluent best. The bowling has been ineffective, even though Joffra Archer, the pace spearhead has shown signs of hitting good form. Wanindu Hasaranga, the Sri Lankan all-rounder, hasn't done much of note this season.
The Arun Jaitley Stadium is known for its batting-friendly surface, with an average first-innings score of 180. However, spinners could play a significant role in the middle overs.
Probable teams:
Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (wk), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), Abishek Porel, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Nitish Rana, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande.
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