“We just want to get better as the tournament progresses. Everyone who’s been around in the IPL knows that the second half of IPL is one of the most difficult parts of the tournament. So we don’t want to get complacent, don't want to relax.” - Harshal Patel
The confidence and ambition of Delhi Capitals is being summarised by its least glamorous name from the playing XI before the match. That is how the Capitals are placed in the tournament and are expected to continue the good show against a struggling Rajasthan Royals on October 9 in Sharjah.
A tale of the two NO.2s
While the Delhi Capitals are currently number 2 in the points table and can anytime become the number 1, Rajasthan Royals too are number 2 but from the bottom side in the table. “Everything is going perfect, you know, the batting, bowling - skills-wise we are going in the right direction, so really happy for the team,” said Capitals’ opener Prithvi Shaw after playing his part in the win against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
If Delhi has lost a solitary game so far Rajasthan will be desperately trying to avoid their 4th consecutive defeat. “I feel if we can get the momentum back on our side in the coming matches then it’ll bode well for us and I truly believe that we can do it,” said senior batsman Robin Uthappa ahead of the game, who himself has failed to do justice to his reputation in this season.
Many vs. few match winners
Perhaps, just with an exception of all-rounder Harshal Patel (decent tournament so far) in the playing XI, rest of the 10 players have shown enough glimpses that they can be the match winners on any given day. For the Royals, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Steve Smith with bat and Jofra Archer with ball can win matches single handedly unless and until someone plays a blinder like Rahu Tewatia did a few days back.
“I think our bowling at the moment is a bit predictable, and I think we’ve learnt a bit from our last few games, hopefully, we’ll apply them and get the desired results,” added Uthappa in RR’s press release.
The Sharjah factor
For many seasons, Chennai is CSK’s fortress where defeating them becomes doubly difficult for the rival teams. However, this trend was started by the RR from the very first season where they turned Jaipur into a fortress. Sharjah is yet to become the new fortress for Rajasthan, but having won both matches so far in that stadium, they can expect a bit of magic.
Especially, two of the match winners like Smith and Sanju Samson who have got fifty plus scores in both outings. Samson particularly has fond memories of two Man of the Match awards. “I think every team in the IPL is extremely competitive, and that’s why the quality of cricket is unparalleled. So when it comes to players like Jos Buttler, Steve Smith or Smason, you just have to focus on executing your skill. You do the planning in your team meetings, and when you get onto the field – it’s all about execution,” said Harshal
Patel ahead of Delhi Capitals’ sixth match of the season on October 9. It is no longer a shock for the bowlers on this ground when they see only one third overs of the match is ‘dry’ when it doesn’t rain sixes. On an average, 28 sixes have been scored per match at Sharjah, and if you compare the corresponding numbers with Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the average comes down to 11. So, basically Sharjah is the ‘new Chinnaswamy’. And, maybe considering his top-order’s six hitting abilities, the Royals captain is confident of a one more win in this ground.
“I don't think we need to panic too much. It’s just about implementing our plans and playing good cricket for longer. Hasn't been a good last three games. Need to turn it around and get some momentum,” said Smith last after the loss in the last match.
Likely XI Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Kagiso Rabada
Likely XI Rajasthan Royals: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Mahipal Lomror, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 David Miller, 8 Shreyas Gopal, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Kartik Tyagi, 11 Ankit Rajpoot
(Vimal Kumar is a senior sports journalist who has covered multiple cricket world cups and Rio Olympics in the last two decades. Vimal is also the author of Sachin: Cricketer Of The Century and The Cricket Fanatic’s Essential Guide.)
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