After a clinical win against high-flying Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals will be back in action against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for our penultimate game of IPL 2024 on Sunday, May 12, at 7:30 PM IST.
The 20-run win against RR at Qila Kotla gives us the much-needed confidence to finish the final leg of the league stage on a high, as we still have a shot at the playoffs if we can win our remaining games.
We will meet RCB for the first time in IPL 2024 and this is a crucial match to keep our playoff hopes alive. The Capitals are currently placed fifth in the points table with 12 points from 12 matches, with two games remaining in the group stage.
Our skipper Rishabh Pant will be unavailable for this contest as Axar Patel is set to lead the side in Bengaluru.
Players to watch out for:
Jake Fraser-McGurk:
Jake Fraser-McGurk continues to give sleepless nights to the bowlers with his attacking display in the powerplay giving impetus to our innings. In the last match also, he scored a 19-ball 50 to give us an excellent start against RR.
He smashed three sixes and seven fours as 46 of his 50 runs came through boundaries. With 309 runs from seven matches including four fifties, Fraser-Mcgurk averages 44.14 with the bat and strikes at an unbelievable rate of 235.87.
Another blistering start in the RCB game will stand in good stead as it helps our net run rate cause as well.
Abishek Porel:
Abishek Porel is making all the right noises in this IPL. He has accumulated 267 runs from 10 innings at an average of 33.37 and a healthy strike rate of 157.98. The 21-year-old has been very flexible batting at different positions with ease.
He played second fiddle when Fraser-McGurk was hitting those boundaries for fun in our last match against RR. But once he departed, the southpaw took centre stage and scored his maiden fifty in the IPL en route to top scoring for the Capitals.
Porel hit seven fours and three sixes to score 65 off just 36 balls to put us in the pole position for a big finish in the final overs. He was involved in crucial partnerships with Fraser-McGurk and Axar Patel before he departed in the 13th over when the score read 144.
Tristan Stubbs:
Tristan Stubbs yet again excelled in the finisher role for us with a 20-ball 41 against RR. Walking to the crease in the 13th over, Stubbs had to overcome a tricky phase first losing our captain Rishabh Pant and then with the RR spinners bowling in tandem.
At the end of the 17th over, DC was 168/5 and crossing 200 would not have crossed many minds. But Stubbs who was on eight off 11 balls had other plans. He hit three sixes and three fours and added 47 off just 15 balls along with Gulbadin Naib to take us past the 200-run mark which was a daunting ask for RR.
With 318 runs from 11 innings, Tristan Stubbs is second in our scoring charts this season behind Pant. He averages 53.00 even as he walks out to bat towards the death and strikes at an excellent rate of 188.16.
Kuldeep Yadav:
Kuldeep Yadav was the architect of our win in the last match as he took 2/25 from four overs. This included a magical 18th over, his fourth, where he conceded just four runs and picked up two wickets.
With the equation at 41 required off 18 balls, Kuldeep did not concede a single boundary, with big hitters around as the game tilted in our favour. He was deservingly awarded the Player of the Match for his excellent spell of spin bowling on a high-scoring ground.
Kuldeep has 14 wickets from nine matches so far this season averaging 20.50 runs a wicket and he has picked a wicket every 15 balls, a mean feat for a spinner in a batter-friendly format.
Mukesh Kumar:
Mukesh Kumar displayed grit and courage as he fought back from an expensive first over which cost 15 runs to pick up the wickets of top-scorer Sanju Samson and big hitter Rovman Powell to get the all-important two points for us.
Mukesh’s last two overs went only for 15 runs including two wickets as he put the brakes on RR’s chase. He has switched roles from that of a new-ball bowler to a dependable death bowler for us this season with ease.
Mukesh is also our top-wicket taker in IPL 2024 with 15 wickets from just eight matches giving us a dismissal every 11.40 balls he bowled. We will need Mukesh to be at his best at Bangalore to repeat the result of our last match and be in the fray for playoffs.
Key Matchups:
Axar Patel vs Faf du Plessis:
Axar Patel has faced off against Faf du Plessis in 10 matches and got the better of him twice. Apart from the dismissals, what stands out is the difficulty in scoring runs against Axar.
Faf has managed to score only 88 runs from 80 balls he faced from the left-arm spinner at a strike rate of 110. Axar can bowl in the powerplay and it will be interesting to see him set the tone against the RCB skipper up front.
Axar has been miserly as ever this season, picking up 10 wickets from 12 matches at an unbelievable economy of 7.32.
Kuldeep Yadav vs Virat Kohli:
An eye-catching battle is on the cards as the in-form Kuldeep Yadav comes up against another in-from batter, Virat Kohli.
In the six innings that Kuldeep has bowled against the RCB opener, he has dismissed him once and has been largely successful in keeping his willow quiet conceding only 61 runs off 53 balls.
We need Kuldeep to put on a show once again and dismiss the top run-getter in IPL this season to get an early advantage in the contest. There will be nothing more satisfying for the left-arm wrist spinner than to get a batter in red-hot form out and keep the home crowd silent.
Ishant Sharma vs Dinesh Karthik:
An exhilarating battle of veterans will unfold at Bangalore when 35-year-old Ishant Sharma comes up against 38-year-old Dinesh Karthik.
The senior pacer has had the measure of Dinesh Karthik dismissing him twice in their seven head-to-head meetings. The wicketkeeper-batter has managed only 15 runs in 21 balls from Ishant at a meagre strike rate of 71.42.
If our pacer Ishant can keep Dinesh Karthik, who has a strike rate of 196.73 this season, quiet, then the battle of death overs will be in our favour. The battle-hardened Ishant will be keen to dominate this duel.
Where To Watch:
Match Details: May 12, 7:30 PM IST | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Watch LIVE: Star Sports / JioCinema
