In the 45th match of Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will on saturday take on Delhi Daredevils (DD), led by Shreyas Iyer, at Ferozshah Kotla Ground in New Delhi. Already out of contention for the IPL 2018 play-offs, bottom-placed DD will attempt to end the season on a brighter note when they face laggards (RCB) in today’s IPL match. RCB are currently placed seventh on the after having managed to win just three of their 10 games so far. They need to win each of their remaining four games to stand any chance of qualifying for the play-offs.
It will be homecoming for RCB skipper Virat Kohli, a Delhi boy, who has been in good nick in IPL 2018. He would want to maintain his side's superior record over Delhi Daredevils in head-to-head encounters. RCB have so far won 12 games against Delhi's seven in all the IPL matches played so far between the two. Besides Kohli, the onus of piling up a mammoth score will be on South African stars AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock and New Zealander Colin de Grandhomme. Stumper Parthiv Patel and Mandeep Singh will also want to add to the fireworks. The bowling department will be headed by pacemen Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee, while leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and offie Washington Sundar could prove handy in the middle overs.
All-rounder Sundar has been disappointing so far, taking just four wickets in seven games at an average of 48 and economy rate of 9.60. With the bat, too, he has not been much to write home about. RCB have done alright with the ball and they would be hoping to maintain that at the high-scoring Kotla. Pacers Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Siraj have so far impressed only in parts.
On the other hand, Delhi's hopes of qualifying were on Thursday dashed by table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad, who chased down a challenging 188, losing only one wicket of opener Alex Hales at Ferozshah Kotla. Young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, whose maiden IPL century went in vain against the Hyderabad side, has been the lone shining light for the Daredevils this season. On Saturday, Delhi will once again hope to entertain the fans with fireworks from the southpaw's blade, even as skipper Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and Jason Roy missed the party last night. Pacer Harshal Patel, who was promoted up the order showed great maturity in resurrecting Delhi's innings with Pant but it will be interesting to see if head coach Ricky Ponting still wants to pursue with misfiring Glenn Maxwell, whose dismal run in the tournament have been a headache for the side. With nothing to lose, Delhi is expected to test their bench. In such a scenario, the likes of Manjot Kalra, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Sayan Ghosh and Junior Dala may get a look-in. Delhi's bowling on a flat Kotla wicket was massacred by the Sunrisers duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson and will be hoping for a better effort from the likes of Trent Boult and Co.
Meanwhile, Kohli looked relaxed ahead of the must-win game as he went out for dinner with teammates in his home city. On the field for today’s IPL match, he will be wanting nothing less than 100 percent from his under-performing unit.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) playing 11 for today’s IPL match: Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel, AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Colin De Grandhomme, Moen Ali or Quinton de Kock, Manan Vohra, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzuvendra Chahal.
Delhi Daredevils (DD) playing 11 probables for today’s IPL match: Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Colin Munro or Jason Roy, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Trent Boult, Liam Plunkett or Junior Dala, Shahbaz Nadeem, Glenn Maxwell, Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav
Here are a few things to know before the Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils (RCB vs DD) match to be played at Ferozshah Kotla ground in New Delhi, the two teams' players who could prove handy, and who has said what before the clash:
Delhi Daredevils players who might make an impact in IPL today’s match (RCB vs DD): Prithvi Shaw wowed during his knocked of 62 against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The 18-year old played a few strokes which elicited comparisons with some of the legends. There is no doubting the talent or his ability and in today’s match, Shaw will be up against several experienced players and will be tested thoroughly. Shreyas Iyer is the Delhi Daredevils’ top run-getter this season. With half-centuries in each of his last three innings, Shreyas - now Delhi Daredevils captain - will expect to extend that streak further and lead by example. In the bowling department, Trent Boult’s bowled brilliantly in the IPL 2018 for DD and the Kiwi pacer is DD’s top wicket-taker in IPL 2018, and DD will need him to return to his wicket-taking ways. Delhi Daredevils will want him to prise out a few early wickets. Avesh Khan has impressed with his pace and ability to generate bounce, and he must keep his performance intact to win matches for Delhi Daredevils.
Royal Challengers Bangalore players who could prove handy today: The opening stand has been the major worry for RCB in IPL 2018. In the match against Parthiv Patel played an important knock off 53 but his other opening partner Brendon McCullum failed to deliver. As Quinton de Kock might not available for IPL today’s match the onus will be on Brendon McCullum to give Royal Challengers Bangalore a stormy start. Virat Kohli who was in a sublime touch in IPL 2018 will look to continue his form. While AB de Villiers (ABD) who failed to made any impression in last match against CSK will be itching to hit the ball out of the park again. In the bowling department, Umesh and Chahal bowled superbly but missed support from the other end while Tim Southee and Mohammad Siraj were inconsistent. The major worry for them is the death bowling as their bowlers missed line and length on most of the occasions and got hammered.
Pant now needs to be consistent, will soon play for India, says Ganguly: Heaping praise on youngster Rishabh Pant who smacked an unbeaten 128 off 63 balls, the highest score by an Indian in T20s, for Delhi Daredevils against Sunrisers Hyderabad, former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Friday said he now needs to be consistent to make the India cut. Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant is not part of any of the senior India teams that will tour England and play a one-off Test against Afghanistan. "I think he has a future but having said that consistency is important," Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of a promotional event. "It's not just one-off. I was reading about Ishan Kishan where he got 21-ball 62 in Kolkata...but when you pick someone for the country you look at consistency. How many times does he keep doing that?"
Never seen shots like the ones Pant played, says Vengsarkar: Being one of the greatest exponents of 'Bombay School of Batsmanship', which is a hallmark of purists, former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar was amazed at young Rishabh Pant's unconventional strokeplay during his 63-ball-128 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL encounter yesterday. Pant hit some unorthodox lap shot in the last over bowled by India's pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar, scooping the ball over third-man for couple of sixers. "I saw him (Pant) yesterday. He played superbly. Some of the shots were innovative and I have never seen those shots before. He played extremely well yesterday," Vengsarkar praised Pant.
Kohli's hunger for improvement pleases Kirsten: Virat Kohli's insatiable hunger for improvement is a certain characteristic of a great player, says Gary Kirsten, who had coached the Indian captain during his successful three-year stint with the national team. Kirsten, who coached India from 2008-11, is once again working with Kohli as assistant coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore. "He is a great player. He continues to improve and get better. I enjoy working with him because he continually wants to learn about the game and all the great players do that," Kirsten told PTI. The former Proteas opener also backed Kohli's decision of playing county cricket to get used to the conditions ahead of the England tour. "It is good for him to prepare (for the England tour), for any player preparation is good," he said.
You will do well if you have strong characters, says Kohli: A dejected RCB captain Virat Kohli said that his team "deserved to lose" its do-or-die IPL game against Sunrisers Hyderabad as players didn't show the kind of strong character that is crucial to winning crunch games. "We were not good enough and not up to the mark. We deserve to lose this game. We didn't show enough application. The kind of shots we played were not on at that stage. This has been the story of our season," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Love playing alongside Virat, says AB De Villiers: South African batting great and Royal Challengers player Ab De Villiers heaped praises on India skipper Virat Kohli terming him as a "great guy and a great captain". Asked about his equation with Kohli, AB De Villiers replied: "Fantastic. He's (Virat) a great guy and I love playing with him. He's become a great captain and an even better friend. So it's been great. He's always been an inspirational character and we have a few leaders in the team that carry the guys in the tough time. We just want to look ahead and try to get better." De Villiers is the brand ambassador of Mont Blanc pens was here to launch its Le Petit Price collection. "No I am batting very well. I am very very happy. Rashid got me out previously. We haven't played a lot against each other but he bowled well and he's a very good bowler. I have a lot of respect for him," added De Villiers. He admitted that Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are on the sixth spot, haven't played well and need to focus on the next games.
Here's how DD and RCB compare head to head in IPL matches played between them so far
Overall
Matchesplayed: 20
Delhi Daredevils won: 6
Royal Challengers Bangalore won: 13
No Result: 1
In Delhi
Matches played: 7
Delhi Daredevils won: 2
Royal Challengers Bangalore won: 5