Match Details
Royal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Capitals
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Monday, 05th October 2020
16:00 SA Time
Preview
In the 19th game of 13th edition of IPL, Virat Kohli’s RCB takes on young Shreyas Iyer’s Delhi Capitals in what is expected to be a livewire contest. Both the teams sit right on top of the points table and have looked in excellent form having lost just one game each so far. In the 28 matches that the two teams have played against each other in the history of IPL, RCB has the upper hand winning 14 of those, whereas Delhi has won just eight and one match ended with no result.
After three very forgetful seasons, RCB has finally had a sound start to their campaign after losing just one of their four games so far. Their batting looks as impeccable as ever with the new youngster, Devdutt Padikkal announcing himself to the big stage in style – with consistency and his sublime shot-making. He has now scored three fifties in just his first four games and has become the first player in the history of IPL to do so. The only area that Kohli’s men will look to improve is their death bowling. In their games against Punjab and Mumbai, they conceded 163 runs in the final eight overs with an economy of 20.04. RCB come into the game after defeating Rajasthan Royals where they put up a complete team performance.
The biggest highlight of the game was Kohli finding his form back and with him back among the runs, Delhi’s bowlers will have a lot to worry about With Finch, Devdutt, de Villiers and now, Kohli in form with the bat and Chahal, Sundar and Saini being very clinical with the bowl, RCB looks all set to register yet another win against Delhi Capitals.
Delhi had a near-perfect start to their season after winning two back to back games but had a tryst with reality when SRH defeated them by 15 runs in their third game. Recovering from the loss, Delhi put up an all-round show at Sharjah in a high-scoring affair against KKR and registered a thumping win. Shreyas Iyer led by example stole the show with his sensational 88 off 38 deliveries that helped his side post an imposing total of 228 runs before their bowlers finished off the task for the Capitals.
The Indian core of Shaw, Iyer, Pant and Dhawan has looked in magnificent form and will look to ensure another win for the team. In the bowling department, the duo of Nortje and Rabada has been phenomenal and they have picked 5 and 8 wickets respectively. Even the spin department has been tight with the ball and the recovery of R Ashwin adds on to the bowling firepower. On paper, Delhi looks as good a team as Bangalore and it will be a neck-to-neck battle to decide the winner.
Injury and Availability News
None of the two sides have any injuries to deal with right now.
Probable Playing XI
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Yuzvendra Chahal
Delhi Capitals
Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmeyer, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshal Patel
Key Players to watch out for
Devdutt Padikkal: RCB’s best find of the season, Padikkal has so far been their most consistent batsman this season scoring three fifties in just his first four games. He has amassed 174 runs in his four matches at an average of 43.50 and is RCB’s leading run-scorer in the tournament as of yet. He is an exceptional fielder and his commitment and fearless stroke-play at the start of the innings makes him a trump card for RCB as he will be expected to give Bangalore a solid start like he has done multiple times now.
Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli is inarguably the best white-ball player in the world and a phenomenal leader. The all-time highest run-scorer in the history of the League, Virat has been a force to reckon with at the RCB. Finally finding his form in the game against RR, Kohli went on to score 72 runs pioneering the run chase and looked as elegant and majestic as ever. With him back in form, it will be a tough task for the Delhi bowlers to contain him.
Shreyas Iyer: This young Indian talent is widely known for his batting prowess and even though he couldn’t convert his solid starts into big scores initially, he came back strong in the game against RR scoring a blistering 88 off just 38 balls including six sixes. He now has 170 runs already in his four matches this season. His consistency with the bat and ability to lead from the front makes him an indispensable asset to his side and all eyes will be on him to get Delhi over the line and have a successful campaign this season.
Value Bets
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli to be Royal Challengers Bangalore top batsman at
Yuzvendra Chahal to be Royal Challengers Bangalore top bowler at
Delhi Capitals
Shikhar Dhawan to be Delhi Capitals top batsman at
Kagiso Rabada to be Delhi Capitals top bowler at
Prediction: