Delhi Capitals are back home, and they now need that one win which will all but secure their place in the play-offs. However, this season has been rather strange for them, the sluggish surfaces at Kotla have not helped their cause and after being a dominant force away from home they would ideally want a better pitch to get going. For RCB, the template is pretty simple - they have to keep winning matches and chugging on.
It could well be a bridge too far for Virat Kohli and team, and Delhi Capitals should look to seal their playoffs spot right here.
Predicted XI of both sides:
Delhi Capitals Predicted XI: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Colin Ingram, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Sherfane Rutherford, Sandeep Lamichhane, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma
Royal Challengers Bangalore Predicted XI: Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Shimron Hetmyer, Shivam Dube, Marcus Stoinis, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee
Fantasy tips and suggestions:
Wicket-keeper
Rishabh Pant has been the fulcrum for the side this season and now the management could well use him at the top of the order in order to negate the sluggish pitch as he prefers the pace with the new ball.
Batsmen
Shikhar Dhawan has found consistency at the top of the order and now he needs to step up and guide his side over the line. Also, Shreyas Iyer, who has looked comfortable with the extra responsibility of captaincy, will be another key player.
For RCB, the two usual suspects in Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have to take up the responsibility and help build a score, more so when there is no Moeen Ali to carry on the good work in the middle overs.
All-rounders
Chris Morris and Marcus Stoinis, two gun players have to contribute with both bat and ball in equal measure as they will be required to provide the late finish in both the innings.
Spinners
On a sluggish pitch, the role of spinners becomes very important and hence, Yuzvendra Chahal and Sandeep Lamichhane will be critical cogs with their leg spin which can be used as an attacking option by the skippers of their respective sides.
Seamers
Kagiso Rabada has been the spirit of Delhi Capitals this season and now, he needs to bounce in and take his side to the play-offs.
Also, there is no Dale Steyn and hence, the onus will be on Umesh Yadav to wink out the Delhi top order early in the piece. He has been good against Shikhar Dhawan and thus, Kohli could attack Dhawan with Umesh early in the powerplay overs.
