Delhi Capitals (DC) will take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 23rd match of IPL 2020.
The match will take place in the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, this ground is a bowler's nightmare.
Overall, in IPL 2020, DC have played 5 games and won 4, whereas RR have played 5 games and won just 2.
Match Details
Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR), Match 23, IPL 2020, 18:00 Local time, 19:30 IST.
Television Broadcast India: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select, and Star Sports Select HD
Live Streaming: Disney+Hotstar
Head to Head
The Head to Head between these two teams is almost equal.
In total, they have played 20 matches against each other in which RR have won 11 matches whereas DC have won 9.
The crucial stat about this head to head is that in the last 4 games between them DC have won 3 and lost 1.
Squads
Top Players of DC & RR
DC:
S Iyer: He took full advantage of small boundaries of Sharjah cricket ground and slammed 6 sixes against KKR to return to form. Although if we remove his 88 runs off 38 balls against KKR, he has scored 93 runs off 88 balls which isn't a good record for a batsman. So far he has played only one good innings as the batsman. Iyer the captain is much more consistent than Iyer the player.
M Stoinis: He took apart the RCB bowlers in the previous match scoring 53 of 26 balls. He has been very aggressive with the bat this year, so far in 5 games, he has scored 123 runs at a strike rate of 198.38 which is phenomenal. He has been expensive with the ball but can be handy if the situation demands as was in the first match against KXIP.
R Pant: In the previous match against RCB, he played a solid inning of 37 of 25 balls against RCB. He has played a few good cameos for DC so far in the tournament but is yet to score a fifty in the tournament. He has a fantastic record against RR, in the four innings played against them; he has scored 220 runs at an average of 110 & a strike rate of 188.03 which includes 3 fifties.
K Rabada: He has picked up 12 wickets so far and leads the list of wicket-takers this year. Against RCB in the previous match, he picked up 4 wickets giving away 24 runs. He has had only one bad game in this tournament against KKR that too at Sharjah-paradise for batsmen. Overall, He has been exceptional with the ball.
S Dhawan: He has failed to capitalize on good starts that he has got while batting. His scores of last four innings of 32, 26, 34 & 35 prove that he is in decent touch with the bat. He has played second fiddle to P Shaw mostly and has a strike rate of 122.11. He has a pretty good record against RR, he is 5th highest run-scorer against them. Overall against RR, he has scored 485 runs at an average of 32.33 and a strike rate of 126.63.
RR:
S Smith: Apart from his heroics in the first two matches of this season he has struggled to get going. He is a crucial player for the team hence his return of form is almost a necessity for RR to rise again. Against Delhi, the RR captain has a decent record. In the five innings against them, he has made 149 runs at an average of 49.66 and a very healthy strike rate of 158.51.
J Archer: Overall, he has bowled well in this tournament. In the previous match against MI, he picked up a wicket but was a touch expensive as well. Apart from his bowling, he has flourished with the bat during the death overs; scoring at a strike rate of 238.88.
S Samson: Like his captain, he was brilliant in the first two matches but has performed poorly thereafter. The good thing for him is that this match will be held at Sharjah where he played those two miraculous knocks. Can Samson produce the goods against the likes of Rabada, Ashwin & Patel will be interesting to see? He has to perform consistently well to not only lift his franchise but also to get himself an opportunity to play for India.
J Buttler: He was the only proper RR batsman who withstood MI bowling. He scored 70 runs of 44 balls in which he hit 5 sixes and 4 fours. If he can replicate the performance of previous match and if S Smith or/and Samson find their touch again it would be runs galore at Sharjah.
Likely Playing 11
Other Players to watch out for
R Tewatia (RR): He went berserk against KXIP with the bat at Sharjah in the second match and was the pick of the bowlers in the first match against CSK. For some reason, S Smith hasn't trusted Tewatia as much as he has trusted S Gopal with the ball. In the previous match against MI, he was the most economical bowler but bowled only 2 overs.
Y Jaiswal (RR): Playing at Sharjah allows a batsman to bat freely. If he is picked up ahead of RR in today's match he could show his skills as a batsman.
R Ashwin (DC): The former Indian first-choice spinner can make it difficult for RR batsman to score freely. He has the guile and experience both to trouble any batsman on his day.
A Patel (DC): He has been a silent assassin for DC. He hasn't been in the limelight often but has done his job excellently in the tournament. He leads the chart of bowlers this year when it comes to economy rate, he has an economy rate of 4.57 which is astounding in T20. The challenge for him though is that he hasn't bowled in Sharjah yet, can he produce the goods at this ground is going to be interesting to see.
Overall, based on the form, DC look favourites for the match. The good thing for RR though is that they have won both their matches at Sharjah and that should instil confidence in them. I feel RR can upset DC in this match if two of their top 3 batsmen can get going.