IPL 2019, Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals - Match Preview

The rivalry week couldn't have asked for a better finish than what everyone witnessed on Sunday night, 21st April at the Chinnaswamy stadium. RCB posted a below par 161, and surprisingly had a very good day with the ball which was spearheaded by Dale Steyn.

Post the inclusion of Dale Steyn in their side, RCB have put up some pretty convincing performances. The likes of Navdeep Saini and Yuzvendra Chahal have been outstanding this season. But needing an improbable 26 runs to win off the last over, surely RCB couldn't lose from there?

MS Dhoni was on strike against Umesh Yadav and tore him apart. One six hit the roof, a 111m monster. Virat Kohli might have seen his IPL season drifting away from him right there. MSD bought it down to 2 runs to win off the last ball, and Umesh Yadav somehow managed to deceive MSD and Parthiv Patel showed immense grit under pressure by dismissing Shardul Thakur.

It was an IPL classic, truly worthy of a Sunday night clash and finally RCB lived to see another day.

RR vs DC( Picture Courtesy: BCCI/ IPLT20.com)

Another team that's barely managed to stay afloat in this tournament is Rajasthan Royals. A team too dependent on their foreign players, have found it rather hard to conjure a winning streak this season.

After losing four of their last five games, Steven Smith was named captain instead of Ajinkya Rahane. It was a very inspired decision as Steven Smith led RR very well on the field with Jofra Archer and Shreyas Gopal continuing on their good run of form.

Steven Smith found complete form in the chase against a quality MI bowling attack including Lasith Malinga. He was finding the gaps with ease, and was scoring freely. He was ably assisted by 17-year old Riyan Parag who stroked his way to a 29 ball 43.

RR wouldn't want to change anything from their win against MI. They would hope that Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson and Ajinkya Rahane can contribute more with the bat and that as a team they catch better.

They are playing against a Delhi Capitals team that is on the upswing. The team lead by Shreyas Iyer has been very impressive this season. Kagiso Rabada with 21 wickets has led their bowling attack and he holds the purple cap too. The other bowlers like Sandeep Lamichhane, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma have been impressive too.

Their batting has been a bit skewed, with batsmen getting into starts but not converting them to bigger scores. Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer have been pretty consistent in the past few games. On the other hand, Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant are due for some runs after a quiet last few games.

When: Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals, April 22, 2019, 8 PM IST.

Where: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Expectations from the pitch: The pitch at Jaipur would be two paced and a bit slow. It would be interesting to see DC's batsmen go on this pitch where a total in the range of 155-170 could be match winning.

Key Players for RR: Steven Smith, Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal.

Key Players for DC: Kagiso Rabada, Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant.

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