The first match of Saturday’s double-header in the IPL will see the two young Indian captains face each other. Second-placed Delhi Capitals will take on Rajasthan Royals, currently at fifth place. While Delhi are almost certain to qualify, they need more wins to confirm their position in the top two. On the other hand, a win will help Rajasthan break into the top four.
A significant part of Delhi's success can be attributed to the aggressive batting at the top, by Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw, and their bowling. Their strong middle order consists of Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer (Steven Smith nor Ajinkya Rahane both warm the benches), while R. Ashwin and Axar Patel provide excellent spin options. Delhi won their last match against the bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad easily. After Anrich Nortje’s 2-12 in 4 overs, Iyer looked flawless and remained not out for 47 on his return.
Rajasthan look heavily dependent on their young Indian contingent, after Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Jofra Archer pulled out. Apart from Chris Morris, they will hope Evin Lewis, Liam Livingstone and Mustafizur Rahman can build on the form they showed in the last match. A lot depends on their Indian players – Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tewatia, Kartik Tyagi – as well. Mustafizur and Tyagi were the heroes of the Royals in the previous match when they defended eight runs in the last two overs against Punjab Kings.
Both teams will not look to make many changes, although Delhi has some concern on Marcus Stoinis’ fitness, and may bring in Smith if needed.
Likely XIs
Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan
Rajasthan Royals: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Chetan Sakariya, Kartik Tyagi, Mustafizur Rahman
Betway Fantasy Tips:
- Dhawan and shaw are in good form and can provide a rapid start
- In current form, Nortje looked slightly better wicket-taking option than Rabada
- For Rajasthan, Morris would be a good pick for his all-around skill along with hitters like Lewis and Livingstone
Blitzpools Fantasy XI
Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw, Yashasvi Jaiswal; Liam Livingstone, Chris Morris (vc), Rahul Tewatia, Axar Patel, Kartik Tyagi, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje
