DC and RCB lock horns in a fierce battle to stay afloat in the race to playoffs

It has been an incredible run for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the last four games where they have pulled off a double over Gujarat Titans alongside which they have registered victories against the formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Punjab Kings. Tonight they take the yard one more time for the penultimate clash of the group stages and it’s against the Delhi Capitals.

This is the first time that the two teams would collide in this year’s IPL and the result of this contest can have a massive impact on the points table. A victory for Delhi Capitals may prove to be the curtain call for the Royal Challengers while a victory for RCB may just take them on level pegging with the Capitals, taking the equation down to their final battle against the Chennai Super Kings.

With play-off hopes still very much alive and other external factors to take into consideration, expect this clash between the Capitals and the Royal Challengers to be a full-blown battle of two sides desperate to clinch a victory at all costs. Whoever keeps their nerves till the very end should come out on top.

Venue Watch

The surface at Chinnaswamy is an absolute featherbed and the batters would be making merry like always. There may be a bit of spongy bounce early on and slower bowlers may have some edge for themselves but if the batters can watch out for the deviant ones, expect the ball to crackle along to the fences.

Personal battles to watch out for:

Faf du Plessis vs Mukesh Kumar:

Faf du Plessis has powered to some swashbuckling start up front and the Royal Challengers will be hoping for him to get the jumpstart again. With 361 runs at a staggering strike rate of 171.09, the RCB captain would be a rollicking force up front while being a general on the field, keeping a keener eye on proceedings. Mukesh Kumar has been the leading wicket taker for DC with 15 scalps to his name despite leaking a few runs up front. With the numbers in mind, it goes without a saying that this is going to be a rivalry to watch out for.

Virat Kohli vs Kuldeep Yadav

Virat’s dream run in this IPL extended to another glistening chapter in the last game where a match-winning 92 toppled quite a few records before propelling RCB to a staggering 241. With 634 runs in his tally, VK is comfortably stationed in the driver’s seat for the Orange Cap race. Kuldeep Yadav has been equally brilliant with the ball in his hand as he claimed 14 wickets this season at an economy rate of 8.20. With the numbers’ game pretty evenly poised in this battle to be a roller-coaster.

Mohammed Siraj vs Tristan Stubbs

Siraj had an impeccable outing in the last game where he shined both with the ball and in the field as well. With 11 wickets in his repertoire, Siraj would be RCB’s pace spearhead once again. Stubbs has been the second highest run-getter for DC this season with 318 runs scored at a strike rate of 188.16. He is going to be a vital cog for the Capitals in today’s fixture, especially in absence of Rishabh Pant.

Match detail:

Match: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Delhi Capitals

Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Date: 12th May, 2024

Time: 7:30 PM

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 30

RCB: 18

DC: 11

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru:

Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

Delhi Capitals:

Rishabh Pant (c)*, Pravin Dubey, David Warner, Vicky Ostwal, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, Abishek Porel, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Lalit Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Mitchell Marsh, Ishant Sharma, Yash Dhull, Mukesh Kumar, Tristan Stubbs, Ricky Bhui, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Dar, Jhye Richardson, Sumit Kumar, Shai Hope, Swastik Chhikara.