Mid-Innings Score:
Delhi Capitals posted 221/8 In 20 overs at the Arun Jaitley stadium on Tuesday after they were asked to bat first by Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson.
Opener Abhishek Porel top-scored for the home side with a patient 65 but it was Jake Fraser-McGurk's 20-ball 50 and Tristan Stubbs's swashbuckling cameo of 41 which took Delhi over the 200-run mark after they had collapsed to 150 for 5 by the 14th over.
Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for the Royals with 3 wickets while Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma and Yuzvendra Chahal got one each.
Chahal dismissed DC captain Rishabh Pant to become the first Indian bowler to pick 350 T20 wickets.
Toss Update:
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bowl first against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the national capital.
RR will be missing Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer in this game. They will be replaced by Shubham Dubey and Donovan Ferreira in the playing XI.
For Delhi, Ishant Sharma is back and Gulbadin Naib has been given his first game by the franchise.
DC vs RR Preview:
At this juncture of the season in IPL 2024, every result in a match holds sway over playoff aspirations, either propelling them forward or dealing a significant setback in the race for the top four.
For the Delhi Capitals, whose season has seen its share of ups and downs, the formula is straightforward: secure victories in their remaining trio of matches, commencing with Tuesday’s showdown against the Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, thus maximizing their chances of playoff qualification.
Securing triumphs in the three upcoming encounters would elevate the Rishabh Pant-led squad to a potential maximum of 16 points, a variable firmly within their grasp. However, the task is far from facile for DC, who re-enter the fray after a hiatus of nearly a week, with numerous unpredictable elements at play.
Both the Rajasthan Royals and the Kolkata Knight Riders presently boast 16 points apiece, while the Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Lucknow Super Giants each sit on 12 points, well-positioned to surpass the 16-point threshold in the standings.
Under such circumstances, the pressure mounts on DC's batting and bowling units to mount a serious challenge for playoff qualification, intensifying their urgency to secure the crucial two points on Tuesday.
Pitch Analysis
"Pitches early on here had more grass, now we have more bare patches and a few cracks. There is still some grass cover in the middle of the pitch. I believe it is going to be another high-scoring game," feels Deep Dasgupta.
The venue, characterised by its short square boundaries and a batting-friendly surface, has witnessed a barrage of runs thus far. The average first innings total stands at an imposing 249 runs, with second innings figures averaging 222 runs. Notably, all three victories achieved at this venue—two of which were claimed by DC—have been through setting a target while batting first.
Squads:
Delhi Capitals Squad: Prithvi Shaw, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Rasikh Dar Salam, Lizaad Williams, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Sumit Kumar, Praveen Dubey, Kumar Kushagra, Ricky Bhui, Ishant Sharma, David Warner, Gulbadin Naib, Jhye Richardson, Anrich Nortje, Lalit Yadav, Yash Dhull, Vicky Ostwal, Swastik Chikara
Rajasthan Royals Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Sharma, Jos Buttler, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shubham Dubey, Navdeep Saini, Tanush Kotian, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Kuldeep Sen, Donovan Ferreira, Abid Mushtaq, Kunal Singh Rathore
