RCB, Delhi Capitals set for even clash at Kotla

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Virat Kohli and K L Rahul will headline the battle of anchors while Mitchell Starc versus Josh Hazlewood in the pace department can only add more spice to the contest between the in-form Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL here on Sunday.

Things can change rather quickly in the IPL but on current form, both DC and RCB are expected to make the play-offs. Two points at the Feroz Shah Kotla will significantly help the winning team in that context.

Kohli remains the biggest draw as he returns to his ‘home ground’ at the back of five half-centuries in nine games. Four of them have come away from the Chinnaswamy Stadium and despite being in the opposition camp, the Delhi crowd will be hoping the Indian superstar extends his prolific run in the tournament.

Slower surfaces this season has made stroke-making tougher but RCB’s leading run-getter Kohli has thrived on that challenge to flourish for his team. Another batter who has done remarkably well under the circumstances is Rahul, who has scored the most runs for Delhi Capitals.

Not part of India’s T20 set-up, Rahul has forced the selectors to take notice with his stellar performances in the middle order and behind the stumps.

Starc versus Hazlewood

The two champion Australian fast bowlers, Hazlewood and Starc, have already showed the immense value they bring to their respective IPL teams. Hazlewood is among the leading wicket takers in the tournament with 16 scalps and effectively won the game for RCB in their previous outing against Rajasthan Royals with an exemplary 19th over.

His compatriot Starc is not far behind on the impact table and coincidentally it was also against Royals that he came up with a barrage of wide yorkers to seal the game for DC. Their duel will be exciting to say the least.

Kuldeep versus Suyash, Axar versus Krunal

Kuldeep has foxed the batters in the middle overs throughout the IPL with his googly causing maximum damage to the opposition. Besides 12 wickets in eight games, the left-arm wrist spinner has conceded runs at a frugal rate of 6.50 runs per over.

His presence will pose the biggest challenge to the in-form RCB batters on Sunday night.

Delhi boy Suyash Sharma has also given a good account of himself in RCB jersey and will be using all his local knowledge to out-think the DC batters.

While DC captain Axar Patel has led from the front, he has not bowled a lot in the competition due to a niggle but has completed his full quota of overs in the last game, marking another positive for a team on the charge.

Also Read: Bats under the scanner: Why IPL umpires are checking every willow this season

Krunal will be performing a similar role for the RCB camp. With 12 wickets in nine games, the left-arm spinner has done the job for his new franchise.

DC have been playing only three foreign players since dropping Jake-Fraser McGurk and that is likely to continue with Abhishek Porel and Karun Nair at the top of the order.

Squads:

Delhi Capitals: Karun Nair, Harry Brook, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis, Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Donovan Ferreira, KL Rahul, Axar Patel (captain), Sameer Rizvi , Ashutosh Sharma, Darshan Nalkande, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Vipraj Nigam, Manvanth Kumar L, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Kuldeep Yadav, Dushmantha Chameera, Mitchell Starc, Mohit Sharma, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar.

RCB: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (captain), Swastik Chikara, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Philip Salt, Manoj Bhandage, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh.

Match starts 7.30 PM IST.