TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsThe inaugural match for Delhi Capitals this season was overridden by the Rishabh Pant return narrative. So much so that the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, which hosted its first-ever IPL game, found more Delhi Capitals supporters than the home side.
Pant seemed rusty, as you’d expect from a player returning to competitive cricket after 15 months, but his return was enough to bring a smile back to many faces who had once dreaded the worst. That Pant is back is going to be the flavor of the season, but at that moment, Rajasthan Royals would know that they have a chance to put one past Delhi Capitals - a franchise struggling to put together their best combination.
The Sanju Samson-led side didn’t have to break a sweat against Lucknow Super Giants and will hope for a similarly commanding performance from their side. Things haven’t been easy for them in Jaipur, where they have lost four and won two since IPL 2023, but history only reveals as much in sports.
RR vs DC Head-to-Head
Overall - Games 27 | RR 14 | DC 13
In Jaipur - Games 6 | RR 4 | DC 2
Venue Details
Unlike most venues in India, the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur favours teams batting first, with sides choosing to bat first in five of the six games played here since IPL 2023. Teams batting first won four of the six matches played here since last season, including the first match this season.
The average first innings score is 175 and the average first innings winning score is 180 since IPL 2023.
While RR have had a 64% win percentage at home which is the second-highest for a team at home, they’ve lost the last four of their five matches in their home (in 2023), recording a win in their first game this season.
Weather forecast
It is going to be dry and humid in Jaipur with the impact of summer slowing taking over the Pink City. It’s also going to be humid, with the highest temperature in the evening being around 28 degrees Celcius.
Things to watch out for
Porel ahead of Bhui?
Delhi Capitals were forced to bring in Abishek Porel as an impact sub in the first innings itself after Punjab Kings put them in a predicament. It worked out well, as Porel managed a quickfire 10-ball 32 - including a 25-run last over - to bail them out of the woods. Will that prompt them to play Porel ahead of Ricky Bhui in Jaipur? Logic dictates they should.
No doubt Bhui is a wonderful player of spin, but his exploits have majorly been restricted to red-ball cricket, with not so much of pedigree in the shortest format. Porel, however, comes with the reputation of striking them clean and having him in the first XI provides so many options.
DC’s top order averaged 25.7, which was the third lowest and the middle order averaged 17.5, the lowest among the teams in IPL 2023. Having Porel bat in the middle order would help them sort that out to a fair degree. Will they go down that path?
Samson’s struggles against left-arm pace - a concern?
Sanju Samson is not necessarily a bad player of left-arm pace bowling, having averaged over 50 in 22 games games till IPL 2022. However, last year was particularly surprising for the Royals skipper, where he managed just 44 runs while being dismissed four times. That’s a staggering drop in average to 11.
Khaleel Ahmed can possibly pose a threat against the Royals’ skipper in that regard. Samson has scored 56 runs against Khaleel in 28 balls in 3 innings, without giving away his wicket even once, but if by any chance, he has actually developed a tentativeness against left-arm pacers, be sure that the former Indian pacer will be eager to have a crack.
Probable XIs:
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sandeep Sharma, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal
Delhi Capitals: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel, Axar Patel, Sumit Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma
Telecast and Streaming Details
The match will be live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on Jio Cinema. The game will start at 7:30 PM, with the toss happening at 7 PM.
