The 55th Indian Premier League 2020 round robin fixture between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC) is scheduled to commence at 7:30 pm (IST) with the toss at 7:00 pm (IST).
A Win For Either RCB or DC Will Be Enough To Guarantee A Place In The IPL 2020 Play-Offs
With fourteen points in their respective banks, a win for either Delhi Capitals (DC) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will ensure them a place in the knockouts of the tournament. RCB do have the slight edge over DC heading into the game, owing to a superior run rate.
Both DC and RCB will also be cognizant of the fact that a massive loss in the game scheduled later in the evening could find them in a spot of bother with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) also very much in contention for a knockout berth.
Both DC and RCB have slipped up in the business end of the tournament enduring a spree of losses
Delhi Capitals who look assured of sealing a playoff berth after winning six of their first ten matches have slipped up badly at the wrong time, suffering four straight defeats on the trot.
Iyer-led DC have struggled with their batting during the recent spree of losses with their frontline batsmen Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer failing to score runs consistently and unable to provide a strong foundation for the team.
Power hitters Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer have been rather subdued in the last few games, struggling to provide the impetus to the innings.
Delhi Capitals will hope that their South African fast bowling duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje can fire on all cylinders against power packed Royal Challengers Bangalore batting lineup. The Delhi-based franchise might get back spin all-rounder Axar Patel into the playing XI to compliment Ravichandran Ashwin.
Much like Delhi Capitals, Kohli-led RCB also head into the game on the back of hat-trick of losses. The power packed batting lineup was wrecked by the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers during their 5-wicket loss in the previous encounter.
With Devdutt Padikal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers and recent inclusion Josh Philippe, RCB do have the firepower with the willow to fend off a stiff DC bowling attack and
RCB do have as potent a bowling unit like DC with a well rounded seam and spin attack. While skipper Kohli will once again look towards seam all-rounder Chris Morris and mystery spinner Washington Sundar to make the early breakthrough in the powerplays; frontline leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal will be the main strike weapon in the middle overs.
The last time the two sides met earlier in the season, Delhi Capitals thrashed Kohli's 'Red and Black Brigade' by a massive 59-run margin.
Here are the full squads for Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2020:
Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Kagiso Rabada, Marcus Stoinis, Sandeep Lamichhane, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Alex Carey, Mohit Sharma, Prithvi Shaw, Lalit Yadav, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Tushar Deshpande, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Harshal Patel, Keemo Paul, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Daniel Sams
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers (wicketkeeper), Parthiv Patel, Aaron Finch, Josh Philippe, Chris Morris, Moeen Ali, Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Dale Steyn, Pawan Negi, Isuru Udana, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Pavan Deshpande, Adam Zampa