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RR will be taking on DC in Match 7 of the Indian Premier League 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai this Thursday (April 15).
The two teams will be entering the fixture after enduring contrasting fortunes in their respective opening games of the tournament, which started last week.
While Delhi Capitals pulled off a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals suffered a painful four-run loss against Punjab Kings in a high-scoring thriller.
It is early days in the competition, but DC, the last year’s runners-up, are currently on top of the IPL 2021 points table, whereas RR, who missed on playoffs of the previous season, are languishing in the bottom half.
Key Players
Shikhar Dhawan looked in imperious touch in DC’s previous fixture against CSK. The experienced left-hand batsman played a fantastic knock of 85 runs off 54 deliveries, including ten fours and two sixes, to help DC chase down the 189-run target with seven wickets remaining. Dhawan’s magnificent innings only reflected his constant improvement as a T20 batter. In the last year’s edition of the IPL in UAE, the 35-year-old had made two consecutive centuries and ended the tournament with 618 runs from 17 innings at an average of 44.14 and strike rate of 144.73. Dhawan will definitely be a key player for DC versus RR.
Prithvi Shaw has been in scintillating form since returning from Australia earlier this year. The aggressive young right-hand batsman dominated the bowling attacks playing for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s premier domestic List A tournament. He scored 827 runs with four hundreds at an average of 165.40 and strike rate of 138.29. Against CSK, Shaw batted tremendously and produced a knock of high quality, scoring 72 runs off just 38 deliveries, including nine fours and three sixes. The 21-year-old also showed improved technical acumen as he was no longer hanging back towards the on-side in his stance, and his bat was coming down straighter as well.
Sanju Samson, the Rajasthan Royals captain, was terrific with the bat in the last match against Punjab Kings (PBKS). Samson produced an outstanding hundred, scoring 119 runs of the highest quality from 63 deliveries. His knock was glint with 12 fours and seven maximums, as Samson nearly took his team home in a stiff run-chase despite carrying the extra responsibility on his shoulders. Samson has faced question marks over his consistency, but his class has never been a matter of doubt. Samson has now made 2,703 runs in his overall IPL career with a strike rate of 135.48. The century versus PBKS was Samson’s third ton in the history of IPL cricket.
Chetan Sakariya, the left-arm seamer from Saurashtra, made an impressive IPL debut for RR playing against PBKS. The youngster didn’t show any nerves despite the occasion and ended with fine figures of 3/31 off his four overs. Sakariya’s tally for the match included the big wickets of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, in an effort that should boost his confidence significantly going further into the tournament. The speedster seems to use the left-arm angle to bring the ball in and across the right-hand batsman very well. Sakariya was bought by RR at the IPL 2021 auction in February for a sum of INR 1.20 crores. The 23-year-old performed very well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament earlier this year and took 12 wickets from his five outings for Saurashtra with an economy rate of just 4.90.
Prediction
DC will be hoping to continue on the winning ways at the start of the tournament, whereas RR will be determined to overcome the bitter feeling following their chastening loss in the last match. The encounter between the IPL 2020 runners-up and the inaugural season champions shall offer some interesting cricket.
DC look stronger, given their impressive batting unit and more robust bowling, which will only be boosted by the return of their first-choice overseas quicks Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, who missed the CSK game due to quarantine.
The only area for Capitals to look into could be their spin department. Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra couldn’t enjoy a wood over the CSK batsmen in the last match. The duo struggled to execute their plans on a flat batting beauty at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The Rajasthan Royals will need a much improved all-round performance in either department after their bowling unit conceded a huge score of 221/6 against PBKS and the batting line-up failed to put in a collective effort in the run-chase, with no one providing substantial support to skipper Samson.
Even though RR are capable of turning things around for themselves, DC are expected to retain the upper hand in this contest.
