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Match 23 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 pits the high-flying Delhi Capitals against 2008 IPL champions Rajasthan Royals at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.
The Royals have had a lukewarm campaign so far in IPL 2020. Although they started the season with two stunning wins, Steve Smith and co have suffered three losses on the trot, with none of their batsmen showing the consistency they did in the first two games.
While they await the inclusion of Ben Stokes, who is currently in quarantine, they will look to clinch a morale-boosting win at the expense of the Capitals. The Royals be eagerly anticipating a return to Sharjah, which is the venue at which both of their victories in the IPL have come at. With the likes of Samson and Buttler looking in decent touch, the Royals would fancy a third win in Sharjah this IPL.
Their opponents, the Delhi Capitals, are one of the hot favourites to win this year's IPL. With four wins in five games, Delhi have rarely been troubled this year, with their win against RCB being a testament to their ability.
Along with a power-packed batting unit, the duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje have been utterly sensational in the death overs. Their only IPL 2020 game in Sharjah saw them beat KKR by 18 runs, and they will be eyeing another win, which would take them to the top of the table, on Friday.
It is the Royals who hold the edge in the head-to-head match-up, with 11 wins to Delhi's 9. However, the Delhi Capitals have won the last three fixtures between the two sides and this might play on the minds of the Royals, who are desperately in need of a win. They will need to be at their best against the likes of Rabada and Pant, with another high-scoring game on the cards in Sharjah.
With two valuable points up for grabs, we should be in for a cracking contest between two explosive batting units on Friday.
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Squads to choose from
Rajasthan Royals
Steve Smith (C), David Miller, Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Robin Uthappa, Shashank Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ben Stokes, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Tom Curran, Anuj Rawat, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Akash Singh, Andrew Tye, Aniruddha Joshi, Ankit Rajpoot, Jaydev Unadkat, Jofra Archer, Kartik Tyagi, Mayank Markande, Oshane Thomas, Rahul Tewatia, Varun Aaron.
Delhi Capitals
Shreyas Iyer (C), Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Kagiso Rabada, Keemo Paul, Mohit Sharma, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Ravi Ashwin, Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Sams, Rishabh Pant, Alex Carey, Shimron Hetmyer and Tushar Deshpande.
Predicted Playing 11
Rajasthan Royals
Jos Buttler (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Steve Smith (C), Sanju Samson, Mahipal Lomror, Rahul Tewatia, David Miller/Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi and Ankit Rajpoot
Delhi Capitals
Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Ravi Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje
Match Details
Match: Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals, Match 23
Date: 9th October 2020, at 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Pitch Report
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium has been a graveyard for the bowlers, with the average first-innings score in IPL 2020 being 219. Although there is some swing on offer for the pacers early on, the dimensions of the ground play into the batsmen's hands.
The spinners are in for a tough time at this venue, with the batsmen having targeted the short square boundaries in all of the four games played here in IPL 2020. Although the team batting first has won three out of the four games played in Sharjah, both teams would look to chase upon winning the toss with dew likely to play a part in the latter half of the match.
With the conditions unlikely to change much during the game, another high-scoring encounter beckons.
RR vs DC IPL Dream11 Fantasy Suggestions
Fantasy Suggestion #1: Rishabh Pant, Jos Buttler, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, Steve Smith, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Jofra Archer and Kartik Tyagi
Captain: Shikhar Dhawan, Vice-Captain: Jos Buttler
Fantasy Suggestion #2: Rishabh Pant, Jos Buttler, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Jofra Archer and Shreyas Gopal
Captain: Jos Buttler, Vice-Captain: Rishabh Pant
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