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In an IPL 2024 season full of domination, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will look to avoid their first back-to-back losses when they take on the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on May 7. While RR sits comfortably in second on the points table with eight wins in 10 outings, the clash could be paramount to them finishing in the top two.
Unfortunately, the side will be without middle-order batter Dhruv Jurel for the DC encounter. RR skipper Sanju Samson confirmed the absence of the 23-year-old due to a niggle at the toss.
"We have a couple of players unavailable. Jurel and Hetmyer have niggles and are missing out. Shubham Dubey and Donovan Ferreira might come in," said Samson.
Dhruv Jurel limped off the field in RR's previous outing against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) after seemingly injuring his hamstring as he tried to stop the ball on the field. RR lost the game by one run with the wicket-keeper batter scoring only a run off 3 deliveries.
Jurel has struggled for extended opportunities this season, facing only 79 balls in 10 games. He has scored only 103 runs at an average of 20.60 and a strike rate of 130.37 with the lone half-century.
RR go against the grain and elect to chase at Delhi
RR skipper Sanju Samson showed no regard for historical data as he won the toss and elected to field first against DC in Delhi.
In the three matches played at the venue in IPL 2024, the team batting first has emerged victorious on each occasion.
Yet, Sanju had no hesitation in bowling first at the toss and said:
"We would like to bowl first. Looks like a good wicket to chase on, but let's see how it goes. We are comfortable doing both, have to look at our team strengths and weaknesses, and we wanted to bowl first today."
Apart from Jurel, RR will also be without the services of finisher Shimron Hetmyer, with the duo being replaced by Shubham Dubey and Donovan Ferreira. Meanwhile, DC are in must-win territory for the remainder of the tournament with a 5-6 record in 11 games.
The two teams met earlier in the season at Japiur, with RR coming out on top by 12 runs.
