The Delhi Daredevils take on the Rajasthan Royals in Wednesday’s IPL clash set to take place at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi.
A Delhi unit all but ruled out of contention for a play-off berth due to a poor first half of the tournament are eager to, at least, avenge 11 April 2018’s defeat to Rajasthan.
The Daredevils’ most recent result was defeat to the Chennai Super Kings, while the Royals lost to the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Prompt turnarounds from both teams, indeed, are in high demand.
DD vs RR | Wednesday, 2 May | Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi | 16:30
To Win Match
Delhi Daredevils 82/100
Tie 35/1
Rajasthan Royals 21/20
Delhi Daredevils
The home side’s batting resources have traditionally been more of a concern than their bowling, but Monday’s loss to Chennai shone the spotlight on seamers Trent Boult and Liam Plunkett. The New Zealander and Englishman collectively conceded 100 runs across seven expensive overs – and will need to substantially vary their lines, lengths and speeds this time.
Delhi, in effect, need to forget what they did against the Super Kings and rekindle what they managed against the Kolkata Knight Riders a couple of days earlier. Opener Prithvi Shaw’s solidity at the top of the order, complemented by leg-spinner Amit Mishra’s wizardry with the ball have to, again, deliver on expectation.
This is a team, after all, attempting to rebuild after the veteran Gautam Gambhir handed the captaincy to young successor Shreyas Iyer. Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell’s role has since become increasingly key – and he’ll want to lead with bat, ball, experience and insight, as Iyer finds his feet at the helm.
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan will recall that their win over Wednesday’s opposition earlier in the tournament was aided by rain. The result could have read entirely differently had Delhi been afforded a full chase. The weather forecast, this time, signals a full, dry encounter – one worthy of such big billing and circumstance.
The Royals may well find themselves up against the Indian Premier League’s latest recruit. South African pace ace Junior Dala has been called up as a replacement for the injured Chris Morris and, if anyone can extract additional bounce from an otherwise low and slow Feroz Shah Kotla deck, Dala should be able to.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes is still struggling to repay his fat price tag at the player auction with big runs and wickets. He, in fact, has taken only one wicket in seven matches – and delivered a couple of brisk, but brief, cameos with the willow. If ever there was a match to go large on both fronts, this is it.
Verdict: Rajasthan Royals 21/20
The Delhi Daredevils have not beaten the Rajasthan Royals in their last six attempts – and that streak is not about to be broken, even if conditions will be considerably different to those experienced in Jaipur.
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