NAVI MUMBAI: Delhi Capitals will aim to quickly recover from their loss in the previous match to stay in the IPL play-offs race while Rajasthan Royals will be eager to hold on to their winning momentum when the two teams clash here on Wednesday.
The Capitals have lost six of their 11 games and although they are fifth on the points table, they are bunched alongside Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings, who also have 10 points from as many games.
Delhi has the advantage of a positive Net Run Rate (+0.150) but the Capitals need to win all their remaining three matches for a shot at the playoffs.
Rajasthan, on the other hand, are sitting on the third spot with 14 points and need just two wins to be certain of qualification. They have a healthy 0.326 NRR, which could come in handy even if they lose their remaining games.
DC have been one of the most inconsistent teams in the league this season as they have struggled to keep the winning momentum going.
After a morale-boosting win against Sunrisers, they were handed a 91-run thrashing by CSK.
Their bowlers looked clueless against Devon Conway, who was hitting boundaries and sixes at will as CSK set a 200 plus target.
Delhi's bowling department hasn't inspired confidence. While Kuldeep Yadav is having a good season, the left-arm spinner has gone for runs aplenty in the previous two games.
The return of pace spearhead Anrich Nortje has also not made much of a difference as the South African hasn't been able to replicate his fiery performance from the previous seasons.
Khaleel Ahmed has been economical while Axar Patel has bowled well.
In the batting department, David Warner has enjoyed a good run but the Australian has got little assistance from his opening partners, who have ranged from Prithvi Shaw to Mandeep Singh to Srikar Bharat.
This biggest downer for Delhi has been Rishabh Pant's form. He has shown glimpses of his destructive power but the team would want more from its skipper who can single-handedly turn around any game.
The Capitals will have to fire on all cylinders against a formidable Rajasthan side.
The Royals have arguably the best bowling side in the competition.
With 22 wickets at 14.50, Yuzvendra Chahal leads the bowling charts this season and alongside R Ashwin, Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna, the Rajasthan attack has the ability to defend any total.
One of the positives for the Royals is that have been able to break the overdependence on Orange Cap holder Jos Buttler, who has had a quite couple of outings.
Given a chance to play after over a month, young Yashasvi Jaiswal shone with a fine half-century against Punjab Kings, providing the otherwise faltering batting department a boost.
But going ahead skipper Sanju Samson and Devdutt Padikkal need to shoulder more responsibility.
The Royals will miss the services of the big-hitting Shimron Hetmyer who flew back to Guyana for the birth of his child.
The last time the two sides met drama ensued in the final over due to the no-ball controversy. RR ended up winning the clash and Delhi would hope they can be on the right side of the result this time round.
Teams:
Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (C), Ashwin Hebbar, David Warner, Mandeep Singh, Prithvi Shaw, Rovman Powell, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Pravin Dubey, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Vicky Ostwal, Yash Dhull, KS Bharat and Tim Seifert
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (C), Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell
