Royal Challengers Bangalore hope to get back to winning ways at home against bruised Delhi Capitals

RCB have so far in IPL 2023 endured a roller-coaster ride amidst the thrills, drama and a couple of denting defeats. On Saturday afternoon, RCB will go head-on with the Delhi Capitals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, with the visitors seeking their maiden win of the season.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore started their tournament on a swashbuckling note when they outplayed the Mumbai Indians on the back of an imperious display of batting. Following the win against Mumbai, they commenced the contest against the Kolkata Knight Riders on a high but let slip of the vice as Shardul Thakur and Rinku Singh batted their hearts out to take the game away from RCB.

Riding high on another batting masterclass where all three of their top-order fired on all cylinders, RCB piled up what seemed like a monumental total against the Lucknow Super Giants. Once again, the bowlers pulled off a fabulous shift in the initial overs only for the match to tilt towards the Giants in the middle overs. Despite Harshal pulling a phenomenal final over, unanticipated drama on the final ball allowed the Giants to walk away with the bragging rights.

Delhi Capitals, on the contrary, would be playing their fifth game of the tournament and as things stand, they are ailing at rock bottom with zero points to show for. They have had some glaring concerns with their batting unit failing, and only David Warner’s form proving to be their solitary beacon of salvation. 

In what is the first day game for RCB of the season, the team would be hoping to put an end to their losing rut and pick up some momentum with the IPL 2023 season producing some surprises every single day.

Venue Watch

Knowing the heritage of Chinnaswamy and its batting-friendly surface, this is going to be another run-fest featuring a plethora of hard-hitters keen to smash the ball long and hard. The team batting second would have an added advantage considering the fact that there will be dew in play and that nullifies any possible lateral movement for the bowlers.

Personal battles to watch out for:

Faf du Plessis vs Anrich Nortje 

Currently stationed in the sixth position on the run-scorers’ list, Faf du Plessis is going to be an instrumental player in the RCB echelons for tomorrow’s game. With 175 runs from just three fixtures scored at a strike rate of 173.26 and an average of 87.50, the RCB skipper will try and nullify the express threat that comes in the form of Anrich Nortje. Nortje has been brutal in terms of the numbers adorning the speed gun but when it comes to wickets, things have been slightly off track for the Protean in the ongoing season.

Virat Kohli vs Axar Patel

Virat smashed his second half-century of the tournament as he has so far amassed 164 runs from three fixtures, scoring at an average of 82 and a strike rate of 147.74. Axar Patel is not much of a turner but he is quick through the air and attacks the stumps relentlessly. This is one area where the former RCB skipper has seemed slightly off his element in recent times. This is going to be a match-up to savour as RCB hosts the Capitals.

Wayne Parnell vs David Warner

Parnell had a memorable debut for RCB and most importantly his return to the IPL couldn’t have been better as he claimed 3 crucial wickets against the Lucknow Super Giants. As the Challengers gear up for an important fixture against the might of the Capitals, Parnell would be hoping to take the game head-on against what has so far been a pretty decent campaign for Warner in terms of runs.

Match detail:

Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals

Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium

Date: 15th April, 2023

Time: 3:30 PM

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 28

RCB: 16

DC: 10

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Faf Du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, David Willey, Wayne Parnell, Himanshu Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav, Michael Bracewell, Vishnukumar Vyshak

Delhi Capitals:

David Warner (C), Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Vicky Ostwal, Aman Khan, Phil Salt, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Manish Pandey, Rilee Rossouw, Abhishek Porel