Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals, Dubai
Pro Tip
An in-form Virat Kohli is your main man and Yuzvendra Chahal is worth the punt as the pitches are getting slower.
Our XI: 1 Rishabh Pant, 2 AB de Villiers, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Devdutt Padikkal, 6 Shikhar Dhawan, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Isuru Udana
Substitutes: Aaron Finch, R Ashwin, Prithvi Shaw, Navdeep Saini
NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates, so please finalise your team after the toss.
Player availability: All players are available for selection.
Captain: Virat Kohli
The Royal Challengers skipper finally got among the runs in the game against the Rajasthan Royals. That had to be the start of better things to come for Kohli as well as the Royal Challengers. Kohli has done well against the Capitals in the past as well, averaging 44.4 since 2017 with his runs coming at a strike rate of 137.88.
Vice-captain: Yuzvendra Chahal
Chahal has picked up eight wickets at an economy of 7.18 so far in the tournament, and the big boundaries should aid Chahal again. In the IPL since 2018, Chahal has dismissed a right-hand batsman every 18.6 balls at an economy of 6.95. Against left-hand batsmen, he has an economy of 8.74 and a strike rate of 17.3.
Hot Picks
Shreyas Iyer: Fresh off a scintillating knock against the Knight Riders in Sharjah, the Capitals skipper must be high on confidence. He has already played a couple of games at this venue, which means he knows what to expect.
Devdutt Padikkal: The youngster has hit three fifties in four games and has scored at a strike rate of 149.15 in the powerplay this IPL. If he can provide that kind of a start against the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, he would have laid a solid platform for the Royal Challengers’ middle order.
Kagiso Rabada: Rabada has bowled a majority of his overs at the death in this IPL, which gives him a high probability of picking up wickets. Rabada’s strike rate at the death in the IPL is 8.4 and the Royal Challengers have lost a wicket at the death every 11.1 deliveries since 2018.
Differential Picks
Isuru Udana: Udana has been used by Kohli at crucial times. He usually bowls a couple of overs in the powerplay and at least one at the death, which increases his chances of picking up wickets. Udana has picked up four wickets in the two games he has played so far.
Amit Mishra: Mishra has been both economical and has picked up wickets. He provides the Capitals with at least one wicket in the middle overs more often than not. He has picked up three wickets in the three games he has played so far with an economy of 7.2.
Alternate Scenarios
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Kohli averages 30.93 batting first and 49.08 batting second in the IPL since 2018. So if the Royal Challengers bat first, Iyer can be your captain and Kohli your vice-captain. Iyer has scored three fifties in the last four games against the Royal Challengers.
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Chris Morris could replace Adam Zampa. If he does, replace Udana with Morris.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo