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The Delhi Capitals (DC) are all set to host the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 56th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. While the Sanju Samson-led side currently occupy the second spot in the points table, Rishabh Pant and his men are struggling in the sixth place.
Rajasthan had been dominating on top of the table for a long time this season before the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pipped the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their most recent game to dethrone RR. Nonetheless, RR and KKR have almost secured their place in the playoffs.
Delhi and Rajasthan last squared off at this venue way back in IPL 2019, where the hosts clinched a thumping victory in a low-scoring affair.
RR’s decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired as they could muster only 115 runs in their 20-over quota while losing nine wickets. No batter except Riyan Parag, who scored a fine half-century, could leave an impact for the Men in Pink.
Rajasthan got off to the worst possible start as they lost four wickets inside the powerplay courtesy of Ishant Sharma. While Parag tried his best to steady the ship and anchor the innings, he did not receive the desired support from the other end.
Of the 10 batters who walked out to the crease, one scored a half-century, seven registered scores in single digit, while the other two failed to get past the 15-run mark. Delhi’s bowlers proved a point and held the then Ajinkya Rahane-led side to 115/9.
Rishabh Pant's gritty half-century guided DC home in that game
The second innings proved that the pitch was tricky to bat on, as DC batters too failed to get going initially. Ish Sodhi dismissed openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw off consecutive deliveries in the fourth over and DC completed the powerplay at 46/2.
It was then wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant who stood strong to score a major chunk of the runs. He remained unbeaten scoring 53 off 38 balls, and some decent contributions from the middle-order batters helped DC complete the chase with 23 balls to spare.
DC and RR have faced each other eight times at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, and the hosts have clinched victories in five of those encounters. RR have already defeated Delhi once this season.
While the hosts would be aiming to take revenge for their previous loss, RR would look to continue their dominance against DC.
