Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals, Round 2, IPL 2021
RR will come into the match against Delhi Capitals with loads of self-belief after Kartik Tyagi pulled off a Houdini act in the final over versus Punjab Kings. At the business end of the tournament, even a snippet of optimism could give a side the required momentum. And for a side like RR, grappling with the unavailability of key players, a come-from-behind win acts as the perfect tonic for the battles ahead.
Tyagi wasn’t the only RR cricketer to shine brightly on that night as the side had a few more positives to take from the game. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mahipal Lomror, and RR’s new recruit – Evin Lewis – grabbed their opportunities by making useful contributions. On the flip side, Chris Morris, IPL’s most expensive buy, looked short of rhythm but the rest of the attack rallied around him well. Despite all the positives from the game, RR still find themselves in the mid-table position and can’t afford too many slip-ups.
When: Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals, September 25, 2021, 03:30 PM IST
Where: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
What to expect: Adding to the fact that the track is on the slower side, the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium is the biggest cricket ground in the UAE. So the average first innings score is usually on the lower side. The dew doesn’t exactly play a major role but chasing could still be the preferred option in Abu Dhabi in this season’s IPL.
Head-to-head: Rajasthan Royals have a slight edge over Delhi Capitals, with 12 wins in 23 fixtures. This includes the incredible, close win earlier this season in Mumbai, when Jaydev Unadkat and Chris Morris combined to secure the two points.
Team News:
Injuries: No injury news has come out from the RR camp since the previous game.
Tactics/Matchups: Jaydev Unadkat has bagged 19 wickets at an average of 13.42 versus DC. His astounding record though comes with a caveat as Unadkat has been around in the IPL since the start of 2010 and DC’s side has undergone plenty of changes over a period of time. Having said that, Unadkat has dismissed RR’s tormentor – Pant – twice in the IPL, and the last time these two sides met, he finished with a three-for.
Probable XI: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c,wk), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Chetan Sakariya, Kartik Tyagi, Mustafizur Rahman
Numbers Game:
– RR’s economy rate of 9.63 in the slog overs is the third best this season. In 2019 and 2020, RR had the worst economy rate during that phase of the innings.
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