Delhi Capitals are back to their den, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, to face Rajasthan Royals in a must-win encounter on Tuesday. Sitting at number six on the points table, DC can’t afford to lose their leftover games in order to stay alive in the race to the playoffs. The chances to qualify are quite bleak for the Rishabh Pant-led side but it’s still too early to rule out any miraculous possibility.
The Capitals have lacked consistency in the tournament, having won five while losing six out of 11. Pant’s comeback and Aussie rookie Jake Fraser-McGurk’s inclusion into the playing XI have been the only positives for DC this season. In their last fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi’s batting order failed miserably, with Kuldeep Yadav being the highest run-scorer.
On the other side, Rajasthan Royals have lost only two out of their 10 games, sitting comfortably at number two in the points table. A win against DC would earn them their top spot back, displacing Kolkata Knight Riders and most likely, the ‘Q’ mark.
After the last-ball loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Royals would now definitely look to bounce back in Delhi. They have a terrific bowling unit that has managed to keep the run flow in control, going under nine (8.99 RPO). The Royals also have a steady top-order in Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag – all of them in form with a 300+ run tally. Lower in the order, RR have a terrific Carribean power-hitting duo of Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell. The only shift that the Royals can do is to send Powell ahead of Dhruv Jurel to face more balls and lead the team to more comfortable wins rather than nervy ones.
What: DC vs RR, Match 56
When: May 7, 7:30 PM IST
Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Live Streaming: JioCinema App
Team News:
Delhi Capitals
For a must-win game, DC’s experienced pacer Ishant Sharma and key batter David Warner are likely to make a comeback. Giving a fitness update on both during the pre-match press conference, Capitals’ Head Coach Ricky Ponting said, “They both trained yesterday. In fact, Ishant trained three of the last five days. He probably won’t bowl today. We’re pretty happy with what we’ve seen from him over the last couple of days with his bowling. As of now, he’s fit for selection.”
“David Warner had a few days off. He also did some batting yesterday in the nets for about 20 minutes. He’ll go through his final paces today. He’s still yet to be passed fit, but from what I saw yesterday, he’s a whole lot better than he was a few days ago,” he added.
Rajasthan Royals
The men in pink will most likely go ahead with the same team. Speaking on the learnings from the last match and any changes after the loss, Royals’ Assistant and Fast Bowling Coach, Shane Bond, said, “We should have won (last match against Hyderabad). Two games that we lost, should have been won. If we play the way we are, we are going to win games.”
Pitch Report
The Delhi pitch has been a batting-friendly one, yielding 200+ scores thrice this season. However, it might assist the spinners if dew doesn’t play much role in the night. While addressing the media, Ponting said, “Tomorrow, we go on to a wicket that we have used. It was a wicket that was used against the Sunrisers, which was a high-scoring game. We expect this one tomorrow will probably be a little bit slower. It might just give a little bit more to the spinners.”
Probable Playing XIs
Delhi Capitals: Jake Fraser-McGurk, David Warner, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Tristan Stubbs, Shai Hope, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar.
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult, R Ashwin.
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