Delhi Capitals’ (DC) stop-start IPL 2024 campaign enters its final lap as it takes on formidable Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on May 7.
DC began the season on the wrong foot, losing four of its first five games. But the Rishabh Pant-led side soon clicked into gear, winning four of its next five matches to put itself in contention for a playoff spot.
But a heavy defeat against Kolkata Knights Riders in its last match means DC’s top-four chances hinge on other results going its way.
For the Royals, the plot has been far more buoyant. Sanju Samson’s men have been on a roll, winning eight of their ten matches.
Batting fire-power
Royals’ success this season has been built around their well-rounded batting unit. They currently boast four players — Riyan Parag, Samson, Yashavi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler — with a 300+ run tally this season, more than any other team this season.
Royals’ batting brawn will fit well with the conditions here, which has seen runs flow faster than any other venue in this IPL (11.85 runs per over).
DC too has some firepower in its rank, with the prominent ammunition being its young Aussie opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, who has scored 259 runs at a scarcely believable strike rate of 233.33 in his debut IPL season.
When these two sides met earlier in the season, in Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals squeezed out a 12-run win. A similar result on Tuesday could all but ring the death knell for DC’s IPL campaign.
Teams:
Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (c), David Warner, Abishek Porel, Ricky Bhui, Yash Dhull, Shai Hope, Prithvi Shaw, Tristan Stubbs, Kumar Kushagra, Swastik Chikara, Ishant Sharma, Jhye Richardson, Rasikh Dar Salam, Vicky Ostwal, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Khaleel Ahmed, Sumit Kumar, Axar Patel, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Jake Fraser-McGurk.
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Keshav Maharaj, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger.
Match starts at 7.30 PM.
