As we head into the 19th match of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the two bottom-placed teams; Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Daredevils (DD) will look to resurrect their form at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 21.
It has been the same old case for these two teams as they still try to find their right combination.
Both teams have shown glimpses of their form but their star players haven’t been able to contribute consistently enough.
Further, it has resulted in both teams losing three out of the four matches respectively they have played so far.
Kohli in the presentation ceremony recently said that he didn’t want to wear the orange cap now. He wants his team to do well and that’s been the case for many years. His team has left him frustrated at times.
The bowling department has been wayward many-a-times and has ended up conceding the two biggest total in this tournament so far.
It was a carnage on display when Sanju Samson tore them apart while it was Rohit Sharma who put the bowlers to the cleaners in the previous encounter.
Moreover, Umesh Yadav bowled well in patches. He began with two unplayable deliveries in the previous match against the Mumbai Indians. However, he ended up conceding 36 runs in his quota of four overs.
The case has been slightly better with the Delhi Daredevils. However, their batting department hasn’t quite come good consistently.
In fact, it was a Jason Roy’s special which handed them their maiden victory against the Mumbai Indians while they were chasing a total close to 200. Their bowlers too have gone for runs starting from the very first encounter.
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Bangalore have lost two matches while chasing. However, Virat Kohli has scored 200 runs which shows that the rest of the batsmen hasn’t quite come good so far. He scored a valiant 92 in a losing cause as he saw wickets tumbling at the regular intervals at the other end.
Kohli does not hide his emotions and it was evident that how disappointed he was with the way he spoke soon after their previous game.
One team will definitely come back to winning ways and the victory should be a boost for them to come good in the rest of the tournament.
The teams will be eager for a victory especially after suffering multiple defeats. With two big hitters in both the teams, the match is expected to be a run-fest especially with the match being played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Team Combinations –
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Kohli will definitely look to tinker with the combination to achieve the desired results, He has to make sure that they don’t head towards the 2017 debacle. They have to pull up their socks as the team is in desperate need of a victory.
Youngsters Washington Sundar has come good with the bat. However, youngster Sarfaraz Khan hasn’t been able to repay the faith shown in him by Kohli and the team management.
In his place, Kohli might be tempted to play the mystery spinner Murugan Ashwin. He doesn’t have too much of options as the team is a well-balanced one. However, it hasn’t been reflected in the results so far.
Predicted XI: Quinton de Kock, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Corey Anderson, Washington Sundar, Murugan Ashwin, Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
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Delhi Daredevils:
Daredevils have also had a couple of poor outings. However, the Delhi-based out is a good team and will definitely look for a turnaround.
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who had to stay back in Kolkata due to police interrogation has joined the team. He hasn’t had a particularly impressive season so far.
But, he is expected to retain his place. All-rounder Vijay Shankar has also failed to make a mark in the tournament so far. He might well be replaced by Gurkeerat Singh Mann or Jayant Yadav.
Both are genuine all-rounders and might be a positive move for the Daredevils
Predicted XI: Jason Roy, Gautam Gambhir, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Glenn Maxwell, Chris Morris, Gurkeerat Singh Mann/Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Nadeem, Trent Boult.
Match Prediction:
