Coming off back to back losses against Chennai Super Kings and SunRisers Hyderabad, RCB would like to sustain their hopes of still making it to the playoffs, no matter how thin they are. Having already been officially knocked out of the tournament, DD would be looking for some company.
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In the last match, RCB bowled exceeding well – a rarity for the side, but failed to back up the performance with the bat. They managed to restrict the batting line up of Sun Risers Hyderabad for less than 150 despite a fighting half century from Kane Williamson.
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However, it was their batting which let them down, falling short of the target by 5 runs. Apart from Virat Kohli, who played a good 39-run hand, no other RCB batsman could leave an impression. It was left to the lower middle order to do the job for them.
Although Mandeep Singh and CDG batted well and took the match deep, the death over bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddarth Kaul was too good for them to get over the line.
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In their fixture against DD, RCB would certainly like to turn their fortunes to remain alive in the tournament. Here is RCB’s probable playing XI against DD at Delhi:
OPENERS
Parthiv Patel
Parthiv Patel was included in the side to don the keeping gloves and replace Quinton de Kock in the side. De Kock had flown to South Africa to attend a wedding but it looks like even after being back, the left hander has lost his place to the Indian left hander Parthiv Patel.
Patel scored a half century in the 1st match and 20 in his second match. It feels that he has done enough to remain in the side.
Manan Vohra
Manan Vohra has unfortunately not got enough opportunities but he has done decently well in the limited opportunities that he has got. He did well in the game against MI, scoring 45 runs at the top of the order.
MIDDLE ORDER
Virat Kohli
Kohli is the mainstay of the RCB batting line up. He has been there and thereabouts but the main problem is that the batsmen around him are not firing. A lone horse can only do as much.
AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers is the chief culprit of the collapses that the RCB batting lineup is facing. The franchise entrusted a lot of faith in him, to bail the team out of trouble along with Kohli, but ABD other than a couple of great knocks, he has failed to live up to the expectations.
Mandeep Singh
Mandeep Singh has been great for RCB in his new role. Originally a top-order batsman, Mandeep has been clinical and has also finished a couple of games for his franchise.
ALL ROUNDERS
Moeen Ali/Chris Woakes
Moeen Ali was slotted in very late in the side. In the couple of games that he has got, he has not done too badly. However, Ali was played at Bangalore because the ball is griping in the surface this year there.
However, given the nature of the Delhi wicket, they can very well go in with Chris Woakes in this match. Woakes provides them with a handy batting option along with swinging the ball upfront and bowling well in the death.
Colin de Grandhomme
De Grandhomme is one of the most underutilized RCB player. Firstly, he was not given a game. When he was, he was not given the ball. However, CDG showed in the match against CSK that he can bottle up one end.
PACERS
Tim Southee
Tim Southee is the best RCB pacer. He was thrown in the mix very late, but since he was given a game, Southee has been a regular feature.
Umesh Yadav
Umesh Yadav has been the 2nd best RCB pacer. With 14 wickets in 10 matches, Yadav is at the 5th spot in the list of most wickets takers. He also has the potential to give you a couple of wickets in the Powerplay overs.
Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj did not start that well but has been continuously evolving as the IPL has moved forward. In the last game against SRH, he bowled well, conceding just 25 runs and picking up 3 wickets.
SPINNER
Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal remains the first choice RCB spinner. He has not had the best of IPL but can turn the match on his head on his day. Especially, he can be lethal for overseas DD batsmen like Jason Roy and Glenn Maxwell.
