Rajasthan Royals (RR) will play Delhi Capitals (DC) in Match 58 of IPL 2022, on 11 May at Dr D.Y. Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. The two teams come into this match in contrasting moods as far as their Playoffs hopes are concerned.
For the Royals one more win could be enough to guarantee them a spot in the last four, while Delhi are in the last chance saloon. Unless they win this match they can forget about their title ambitions for another year.
Their confidence will not have been helped by being on the wrong end of a real hiding in their last match, when Chennai Super Kings beat them by 91 runs on Sunday. The previous day, Rajasthan had beaten Punjab Kings by six wickets with two balls to spare.
Rajasthan boast both the Orange and Purple Caps, and both Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal must now be favourites to hold on to them for the rest of the season. Buttler, who has already hit three hundreds, has been a little subdued for two matches, but he may find some form again.
Meanwhile, Chahal spearheads arguably the strongest bowling attack in the tournament, one that also boasts of R. Ashwin, Trent Boult, and Prasidh Krishna – all fine performers on their day.
On the other hand, while David Warner has had another fine season for Delhi, he has lacked assistance from his opening partners. The biggest disappointment has arguably been the form of Rishabh Pant, and there must now be concerns that the burdens of captaincy have inhibited his natural game too much.
The Delhi bowlers were taken to the cleaners by Chennai. While Kuldeep Yadav has been having a good season, he has come in for more than his fair share of punishment in the last two games.
Likely XIs:
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Devdutt Padikkal, Jimmy Neesham, R. Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen
Delhi Capitals: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Rovman Powell, Ripal Patel, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed.
Fantasy Tips:
• Pick Buttler. He will want to make some runs again, just to get back into the groove ahead of a likely playoffs appearance.
• Chahal can expect to strengthen his grip on the Purple Cap. He already has 22 wickets and will be hoping for several more.
• Delhi need Warner to bat with authority. While he is at the crease they will always have a chance.
Prediction:
This could be the match that is the final nail in their coffin for DC as far as their playoffs hopes are concerned., Given comparative form, it is hard to see beyond a Rajasthan victory.
Streaming
‘Match 58 between RR and DC will start at 19:30 on Wednesday, 11 May. You can watch the match on the Star Network and Hotstar.