At Sharjah, Delhi Capitals shook off the hangover of the last game against Sunrisers. If Sharjah is a perfect ground for Delhi, it was never for KKR. So they decided to put huge runs on the board, having lost the toss. Anything 200+ was not easy for KKR with Subhman Gill and Narine at the top. On the other hand, Delhi had to plan only for Morgan and Andre Russell to stop anything uncontrollable. I think it’s not going to be an absolute repetition here at Dubai. In my last article RCB vs RR, I said that Royal Challengers Bangalore are rich in captains. They have not a perfect batting- bowling combination like Mumbai Indians or like Delhi Capitals, but all the departments are well synchronized and in experience, they must leave Delhi behind. Royal Challengers Bangalore have got momentum in their last game, as they bowled well, and Virat Kohli, with less scoreboard pressure, got back to rhythm.
No doubt about it, Delhi are a little ahead of RCB in this contest. But I expect a nail-biting fight on the spot, as RCB will try their best to capitalize Delhi’s inexperience and impatience in the middle.
Shikhar Dhawan at the start is just perfect for Delhi. Still he is not in great touch. Still he is not at his best. At Sharjah, he tried to get to form using the shorter boundary. And his partner Prithvi Shaw is just a fantastic technician, but he can be trapped by the Sundar-Chahal duo. He needs to be more careful to remain consistent. Shreyas Iyer’s innings helped them reach 228 at Sharjah. Pant must go after the bowlers, only after reading the situation. Hetmyer and Stoinis in the middle can handle top-order failure.
Finch, though not in form, may take a test of Delhi bowlers. Got set, he can keep the scoreboard running with a number of crackers. Padikkal is in magical touch. So no problem with the opening. At No. 3, Kohli has to stick to the wicket. AB de Villiers can make Capitals’ bowlers suffer with his superb skill. In RR vs RCB Match Preview, I preferred Moeen Ali to Zampa in best XI, as it would strengthen RCB’s lower middle order. As he can bowl also, he may work as a fifth or sixth bowler.
Against Shikhar Dhawan, Washington Sundar will follow Navdeep Saini. Kohli is using Chahal best. He was very tight in the last two games. He is forcing the batsmen to keep guessing, rhythmically changing length. Udana may be used in the middle overs.
Delhi have the best opening pace after Mumbai Indians with Kagiso Rabada and Nortje to have the new ball. R. Ashwin went for runs last night at Sharjah. But, I think, here he will go wicket to wicket and keep changing pace. Harsh Patel and Amit Mishra will make playing XI.
Both the teams played here at Dubai more than once and therefore it doesn’t matter wherever they are coming from…..from Abu Dhabi or Sharjah. They are keen to plan in keeping with the situation. For today’s game, it’ll be better to bat first to move psychologically ahead. We are on 19th match and the situation is shifting to a knockout level. It’s why, now, it’s not the perfect time to play with the wicket, rather to believe in the strength.
