IPL 2020 LIVE SCORE, DC vs RR Match: Delhi, Bangalore face off in must-win encounter

SRH expose chink in RCB’s batting as race to playoffs heats up

If there is one thing we realised on the final league-stage Saturday of this edition of the Indian Premier League, it’s that no team – barring Mumbai Indians – wants an easy qualification route.

In a season where Chennai Super Kings have never been in the knockouts’ race, you would think the other teams would pull up their socks. They haven’t, with all five teams still in contention for the remaining three spots as you read this. While it is an ode to Mumbai in how well oiled they are, the consistency among other teams in being inconsistent is worrying. In a league that is in its 13th season, you expect more than just two teams constantly making the knockouts. From a holistic IPL viewpoint, that is staggering.

Two teams are synonymous with this inconsistency – Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The former were quite brilliant in their early-season form, yet have managed to squander any gains whatsoever and are now on the cusp of exit thanks to faltering run-rate. Royal Challengers Bangalore are only marginally better in terms of NRR as they also blew their massive chance to join Mumbai early in the knockouts’ sanctity. Both these losses were marred by shoddy batting performances.

Click here to read more of Chetan Narula's analysis of RCB's defeat at the hands of SRH.

Decoding Delhi Capitals' downward slump and how they can improve

There was a time in this edition of the IPL, not too long ago, when Delhi Capitals – along with Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore – had pulled away from the others in the race to the Playoffs. Now, as the league stage enters its last round, these three sides are still at the top. However, while Mumbai are guaranteed a top spot, Bangalore and Delhi have fallen behind; and given their ordinary net run rates, a defeat in the last match – when they play each other – may well spell doom for both.

This is particularly true for Delhi (-0.159), whose net run rate is behind not only that of Bangalore (-0.145), but also Sunrisers Hyderabad (+0.555) and Kings XI Punjab (-0.133), both of whom are two points behind them. In other words, they as good as have to win their last match.

So, what went wrong? Why did Delhi lose four matches on the trot after winning seven out of nine? Ajinkya Rahane played two of these matches: he got a golden duck in one and played a useful cameo in the other before being replaced by Prithvi Shaw – who did not do much either.

Click here to read more of Abhishek Mukherjee's analysis of DC's loss against MI. 

Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore aim to break losing streak with top-two finish at stake

Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore are both expected to go all out against each other on Monday to arrest their rapid slide in the IPL and, more importantly, secure a top-two finish in the points table.

DC and RCB go into the virtual quarterfinal, having lost four and three games on the trot respectively, showing that things can change rather quickly in the highly-competitive IPL.

At stake is a top-two finish which provides a couple of attempts to make it to the final. The loser of Monday’s game could still end up making the play-offs but it will be then at the mercy of other teams.

Click here to read more of the preview of tonight's match.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the IPL!

It's match 55 of the Indian Premier League coming up, and it will see the Delhi Capitals face off against the Royal Challenger Bangalore. If you haven't watched a single minute of action from this season of the IPL, you would be forgiven for thinking that since this is the penultimate match of the league. it'll probably be a dead rubber, but tonight's contest is actually one of huge consequence! RCB and DC are currently level on 14 points with the Kolkata Knight Riders, with RCB in second and DC in third. As of right now, both teams are qualifying for the playoffs, but whoever loses tonight could be in danger of missing out, should SRH beat Mumbai tomorrow. Stay tuned as we bring you all the updates from this high-stakes encounter!