The 23rd match of the Indian Premier League will take place between the Rajasthan Royals and in-form Delhi Capitals at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah. Rajasthan Royals who have been on a three match losing streak will be looking forward to win this one and keep their hopes alive in the tournament.
While the Delhi Capitals have been doing a wonderful job this season as they have tasted defeat only one occasion this season. Shreyas and Co. will be hoping they can continue their winning form and be the first team this season to reach the double-digit on the points table.
Rajasthan Royals were handed a huge defeat by the defending champions Mumbai Indians. As once again the batting of Royals failed to get going. With the only silver lining being the innings of Jos Butler. The English opener was seen to be in great touch on his way to 70 of 44 balls. But the quick dismissals of his teammates meant that RR ended up on the losing side by a huge difference of 57 runs.
Delhi Capitals undoubtedly have been the strongest team this season so far as all their players seem to be in good touch and the bowling has been top notch too. The match against RCB saw DC score an amazing total of 196, which given the nature of Dubai Pitch was a winning total. With a bowling line-up that consists of experienced contenders like Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada and Axar Patel. The Delhi Capitals were not ready to mess things up and ended up defeating the RCB by 59 runs.
Rajasthan Royals will return to Sharjah this time around, where they have won both the matches played. Can RR stay unbeaten at Sharjah? Or will DC defeat them and snatch the top spot from the Mumbai Indians?
Head to Head
Matches Played- 20, RR- 11, DC- 9, N/R- 0
Team News
Rajasthan Royals have not reported any injuries. Their star all-rounder Ben Stokes has been reported to be undergoing his quarantine period. The 29-year old is expected to feature in the playing Xl as soon the quarantine is completed.
Delhi Capitals were struck by a huge blow as their key bowler Amit Mishra was ruled out of the tournament due to a finger injury. Indian all-rounder Axar Patel was played as a replacement in the match against RCB and the spinner did a wonderful job as he picked up the crucial wickets of Aaron Finch and Moeen Ali.
Pitch and Conditions
The pitch in Sharjah has been a paradise of the batsmen and is expected to continue the same way. The bowlers have been breaking their heads to find a way to stop the batsmen but none have succeeded so far. With no score sage enough in Sharjah, the match promises to be an exciting one.
The conditions are once again ideal for the sport with no chance of rain. The temperature is expected to be hovering around the 31 degree mark, which is slightly lower than the average temperature recorded last week. Though the humidity is once again expected to take a toll on the players.
Probable Playing Xl
Rajasthan Royals (RR): Jos Buttler (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Steven Smith (c), Sanju Samson, Mahipal Lomror, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Tom Curran, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Kartik Tyagi
Delhi Capitals (DC): Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje
Key Battles
Prithvi Shaw (DC) vs Jofra Archer (RR)
The 20-year old Delhi Capitals opener has been dominating most of the bowlers and looks to be in an elite form. The Right-hander has scored 179 runs in this series so far at a strike-rate of 148 and looks hungry for more. Rajasthan Royals will be looking to remove the youngster as early as possible as he is someone who can score freely once settled.
The best person to do the job for the Royals would be the English all-rounder Jofra Archer. The Pacer has been picking up crucial wickets for his team and has done a good job in containing the batsmen. Archer has picked up 5 wickets this season at an excellent economy of 7 and will be looking to pick up the big fish of DC, in which is almost a must win game for Rajasthan Royals.
Can the youngster guide his team to the top of the table? Or will Archer demolish the DC opener?
Sanju Samson (RR) vs Kagiso Rabada (DC)
The Wicket-keeper batsman made the headlines by taking his team to victory in the first two matches but failed to cross double-digit later on. Samson will be looking to turn the fortunes in his favor as he will be playing once again in the pitch he loves to get going and will be hoping he can make full use of the opportunity. Though it would not be an easy task as DC have one of the best bowling line-ups in the tournament.
The purple cap holder Kagiso Rabada is in the form of his life picking up 12 wickets in just the 5 matches played at an excellent economy of 7.50. The proteas pacer is someone who loves to open the attack and will be eyeing to dismiss the struggling Smith and Samson.
Can Sanju Samson once again rule the Sharjah ground? Or will Kagiso Rabada tear apart the RR line-up?
Prediction
Delhi Capitals look very good on the sheets this season and seem a very well balanced team. They would be happy that though they have managed to find an excellent replacement for Amit Mishra in form of the bowling all-rounder Axar Patel.
Though Rajasthan Royals have been struggling and completely clueless in the last few games. The team has world-class players in the form of Steve Smith, Sanju Samson, Jos Butler and Jofra Archer. The Royals can be written off yet and will be looking to pounce back. Given that RR have not a game in Sharjah and the conditions suit them better, RR may have a slight edge going into the game.
Delhi Capitals are really untouchable in the current form they are in currently and it would definitely take something special for RR to get past them.
Cricwizz predicts Delhi Capitals to win the match
