🏏IPL 2023: Match 50 - DC vs RCB on 06/05/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

🏏IPL 2023: Match 50 - DC vs RCB at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on 06/05/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

Tag & Logo Credit: Sevenstreaks

Nortje unavailable as Delhi Capitals face tough RCB test

RCB have not lost to Capitals since 2021, and another win will solidify their chances of a top-four finish

Capitals need Warner firing

Delhi Capitals' problems start at the top. They are the second-slowest scorers (run rate of 7.68) in the powerplay and their opening pair averages a shade under 26. They are up against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are the most economical bowling team in the powerplay, with an economy of 7.29 to go with their 22 wickets.

While David Warner has been a constant at the top, his returns have diminished as the tournament's progressed. In the first four matches, he scored 209 runs and was Capitals' lone man standing. But in the last five games, he has added only 99. Each of Capitals' last three opening stands have been in single digits - 0, 0, 1.

However, Warner has the joint-most runs by any batter in the IPL against RCB - 839 in 21 innings - and is the third-most for him against any IPL team. His record in Delhi is also impressive - 885 IPL runs, which is the second-most by any batter at the venue in the IPL.

On the other hand, RCB are among the fastest scoring teams (run rate of 9.29) in the powerplay and their opening partnership averages 53.62 per dismissal. Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis have been setting them a good platform but there is little consistency in the middle order barring Glenn Maxwell. And that perhaps explains the reason behind Kedar Jadhav's emergence as the replacement player.

Despite being a home game, the Capitals do not start as favourites. They have lost three of their four home games this season and are up against an RCB side that hasn't lost to them since IPL 2021. It cannot get tougher than this.

Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Pitch Report

The pitch at Arun Jaitley Stadium is known to assist the spinners throughout the game. The new ball comes nicely onto the bat and the strokeplay is comparatively easier in the powerplay, while the pitch tends to slow down as the game progresses. The average first innings score at the venue is 160-175.

Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Weather Forecast

The conditions in Delhi will be ideal for a game of cricket, with the temperature expected to range between 24 and 36 degrees Celsius.

Pitch and conditions

The average score first innings score this season in Delhi has been 165. The average winning score, though, goes up to 197. The pitch has tended to be on the quicker side with both pacers and spinners having something of interest. While fast bowlers have picked up 29 wickets as compared to spinners' 22, the pacers' economy rate has been over nine an over as opposed to the spinners' 6.7.

Team news: Mustafizur away, Nortje outMustafizur Rahman has played only two matches in IPL 2023 for Capitals but has now left for Bangladesh's three-match ODI series against Ireland in Chemsford that starts next week. Mitchell Marsh missed Capitals' previous encounter due to illness and should be back if he has recovered.

Capitals said in a statement on Saturday afternoon that Anrich Nortje, the leader of their bowling attack, is unavailable "owing to a personal emergency". He flew back to South Africa on Friday night and it is unclear when - and whether - he will return.

Meanwhile, Jadhav, who was brought in as a replacement for the injured David Willey, could be in action for RCB.

Form guide - (last five matches, most recent first)

Delhi Capitals WLWWL

Royal Challengers Bangalore WLWWL

Impact Player strategy

Delhi Capitals

Phil Salt has three single-digit scores - two ducks included - on either side of his half-century. But Capitals are likely to persist with him at the top and continue with Khaleel Ahmed as their Impact Player if they bowl first. In Nortje's absence, Lungi Ngidi could make his first appearance of the season.

Probable XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 David Warner (capt), 3 Mitchell Marsh/Rilee Rossouw, 4 Priyam Garg/Yash Dhull, 5 Manish Pandey, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Aman Khan, 8 Ripal Patel, 9 Lungi Ngidi, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Ishant Sharma, 12 Khaleel Ahmed

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Depending on how much purchase there is on the surface, RCB could decide between Harshal Patel and Vijaykumar Vyshak as Impact Players. And they could use Jadhav to boost their batting if needed.

Probable XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Suyash Prabhudessai, 5 Anuj Rawat//Kedar Jadhav, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Mahipal Lomror, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Josh Hazlewood, 12 Harshal Patel/Vijaykumar Vyshak

Stats and Trivia

• The Maxwell vs Kuldeep battle is interesting. Kuldeep has got the better of Maxwell in each of their four meetings, but Maxwell has scored 59 off the 22 balls with a strike rate of 268. That is the best strike-rate by any batter against Kuldeep in the IPL.
• Axar has dismissed du Plessis three times in T20s, the joint-most by any spinner. Du Plessis has scored 89 off the 81 balls he has faced against Axar.
• In IPL 2023, RCB have won four of their five matches batting first.
• Kohli averages 73 and strikes at 167 against pace this season. Among bowlers who have bowled at least 15 overs to right-handers in IPL 2023, Kuldeep (6.30) and Axar (6.34) have the best economy rate against them

An on-the-rise Delhi Capitals stand in their way, as Royal Challengers Bangalore look to break into top-four at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla ground on Saturday (May 6).

After five successive defeats at the start, DC have flipped their fortunes around with three wins in last four games. They come into the contest with an away win against defending champions Gujarat Titans, having defended a meagre 130/8 in Ahmedabad. RCB's recent form is similar - three wins in their last four outings including an emotionally-charged, low-scoring encounter in Lucknow, where their 126 proved far too much for the hosts. That win has propelled RCB to fifth spot, and a win against DC - who still remain rooted to the bottom of the table despite the surge - can potentially see them entering the top four as the race for the playoffs intensifies in the business half of the competition.

Capitals know they are in a must-win territory, where the margin for errors are very thin. The equation is simple, win all five to give themselves a chance. However, that will need massive improvement on the field from the batting department. DC's success can be attributed to their combined bowling efforts - their overall bowling economy of 8.35 is the third best of the season. But their woes start right from the opening pair. DC dropped Prthvi Shaw after a string of low scores, but the David Warner-Phil Salt partnership has registered only a solitary run in three innings thus far. Delhi rank second* among the teams losing most wickets in PowerPlay (21; KKR - 22) this season and Warner's diminishing returns would be a cause of worry for the hosts.

DC dropped Prithvi Shaw after a string of low scores, but the David Warner-Phil Salt partnership has registered only a solitary run in three innings thus far.

Warner started the season as DC's best batter during their early slump with four fifties in six games, but has collected only 23 runs in the last three outings. That said, his record against RCB is stellar - 839 runs in 21 games, that's joint-most alongside MS Dhoni, at an average of 44.16 and strike-rate above 161 - the home side would be hoping to see more of those fireworks in their bid to stay alive and relevant in the competition.

On the contrary, RCB have the best opening pair of season with skipper and Orange Cap holder* Faf du Plessis (466) and Virat Kohli (364) aggregating the highest runs (566) at an average of 62.89 as compared to DC's lowly tally of 143 at 15.89. However, RCB have had a reputation of being batting-heavy and this season is no different.

RCB's over reliance on the in-form trio is a glaring weakness DC would look to cash in on - du Plessis, Kohli and Glenn Maxwell account for a staggering 73.33% of their runs this year (excluding extras). The middle-order is feeling the heat with Rajat Patidar ruled out, and RCB have tried as many as six different players at no.3 with none except Maxwell clicking. On top of which, Dinesh Karthik's poor returns have hurt the batting further - he's got two ducks in nine games and been involved in four run-outs.

Between Josh Hazewood's successful return from injury, to fashion their 18-run win vs LSG, and Mohammed Siraj's red-hot form, RCB's new-ball attack has been strengthened further. They outclass their opponents in Powerplay bowling returns as well - 22 wickets at an ER of 7.3 as compared to DC's 14 at 7.98 - and will go in as favourites into Saturday's contest.

What to expect: Barring the one low-scoring game here, against KKR, the average first-innings score has been 177. SRH, in the previous game here, are the only team so far to successfully defend a score albeit it was an above par one. A partially cloudy day with the weather dropping to late 20s by the time the game gets underway.

Team News

Delhi Capitals

Mitch Marsh, who missed Delhi's last game in Ahmedabad, is fit and available for selection against Bangalore. He should be walking back into the XI right away with Rilee Rossouw making way. Anrich Nortje will miss the game, as he has left for South Africa due to a personal emergency.

Tactics & Match-ups: The Kuldeep Yadav vs Maxwell battle could be a potential game-changer. The DC spinner has dismissed Maxwell four times in IPL history, but not before the Australian has hammered 59 runs off him in 22 deliveries, striking at over 268.

Probable XI: David Warner (C), Philip Salt (wk), Mitch Marsh, Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Axar Patel, Ripal Patel, Aman Hakim Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Kedar Jadhav was among the select small batch attending optional nets two days out from the game, and could be in line for his RCB comeback at a ground he once called 'home'.

Tactics & Match-ups: Mohammed Siraj has struck eight times in powerplay this season, and boasts of an economy of just 5.4 in the first-six. All eyes would be on him against DC's misfiring openers.

Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (C), Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror/Suyash Prabhudessai, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Wanindu Hasaranga, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood

Did you know?

- Kohli needs 12 runs to become the first batter to aggregate 7000 runs in IPL, and 25 to complete a 1000 against DC.

- Dinesh Karthik needs one catch to equal - and two to overtake - Dhoni's record (208) as the most successful keeper in IPL history.

What they said?

"We need to control the run rate in the middle overs. We are a good death bowling unit and start well with the ball. We know that RCB's batting order is top-heavy. And if we can cause trouble early on, then we can restrict them to a manageable score." - Delhi Capitals' fast-bowling coach James Hopes