Yet another must-win clash makes its way tonight. The underperforming Royal Challengers Bangalore packs their kits to travel to Delhi in order to take down wounded-Delhi Daredevils.
Delhi Daredevils – Eyes to spoil RCB’s hopes
The season changed, skipper changed, the coach changed and the entire core unit changed but the fate of Delhi Daredevils remained the same as they found themselves on the wrong side of the things again. As they are already out of the tournament, the local side would like to crush the hopes of RCB to enter Playoffs.
However, it would also be a perfect chance for the home side to ask for the bench players to show their mettle. The batting department is doing a great job for the team but unfortunately, their bowling department is losing their rhythm whenever it matters the most.
The big guns like Glenn Maxwell and Jason Roy are continuous failures for DD in the season and it is expected that they would warm the bench for final games. The youngsters would be licking their lips to taste the essence of IPL and it is good chance for the management to try out them as well.
As James Hopes termed, it is also their best chance to bring out the wholesome change in the bowling department.
Royal Challengers Bangalore – In quest of winning ways
Much like Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore too bagged yet another flop season in their kitty. However, technically, they are in the playoff race but need to get a win in all the remaining games and few other results must go in their way.
Coming to the game, the local kid, Virat Kohli would be eyeing for a big score and it is required at any cost as well. It has been a long time since watching Virat Kohli in a full flow and he would like to change his fortunes in his home ground.
The batting department lost their rhythm in the last 2 encounters which made a massive impact on their chances for Playoffs. AB de Villiers is still optimistic of their playoff chances and big knock from his willow is around the corner.
However, the other Indian batsmen in the team are finding it hard to knock the ball while their youngster Mandeep Singh was a failure whenever RCB required him the most. The only positive player for the team would be Colin de Grandhomme who is handing his services in all sections of the game.
Moeen Ali did his job with the ball but unfortunately, could not do the same with his willow. Washington Sundar is the other notable failure of the season. However, the bowling department got their rhythm and are wrecking the havoc in recent times.
The youngster, Mohammed Siraj and the experienced Tim Southee are hitting the right lengths while Chahal came back to his own.
However, a perfect game is set to make its appearance on a beautiful Saturday evening. With the shorter boundaries on offer, one can expect a high-scoring thriller at Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi.
Probable Playing XI:
DD: Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Junior Dala, Amit Mishra, Harshal Patel, Trent BouShahbazabaz Nadeem
RCB: Brendon McCullum, Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj.
Pitch Report – A flat deck on offer. High scoring thriller is on the cards. Dew might come into play as well.
Weather Report: No forecast of rain. A perfect evening for the game.
Date & Time – 12th May 2018, 20:00 IST
Venue – Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi.
Live Telecast – Star Sports Network, Jio and Hotstar Premium customers.