Dubai: It will be a battle between equals when two top IPL teams — Delhi Capitals (DC) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) — square-off at the Dubai International cricket stadium here on Monday.
Both teams have six points each, but on net run rate DC were ahead of RCB till the start of the Mumbai Indians-SunRisers Hyderabad match on Saturday. Both Mumbai and Hyderabad had four points each before their game began, and by the end of their match, the equation on the points table could alter.Delhi and Bangalore are fresh from wins on Saturday.
While the Virat Kohli-led RCB side thrashed Rajasthan Royal (RR), the Shreyas Iyer-captained DC defeated KKR by 18 runs. Both contests saw their respective skippers leading from the front. After three below-par shows, Kohli regained his touch and played a fantastic unbeaten 72-run knock, helping his side register their third win of the league. Similarly, Iyer’s blitzkrieg (unbeaten 88 off 38) propelled DC to a massive 228/4 against KKR before their bowlers defended the target to set up their third win.The DC top-order, barring Shikhar Dhawan, looks in sublime touch and has explosive Marcus Stoinis and Shimron Hetmyer in their arsenal for late fireworks. DC stumper Rishabh Pant also showed signs of getting the form back after he dusted off his rustiness with a 17-ball 38-run cameo on Saturday.
Dhawan (26 off 16) started his innings well against KKR but the left-hander failed to convert it.
In bowling, Kagiso Rabada will once again spearhead the pace attack along with compatriot Anrich Nortje, who bowled a decent penultimate over against KKR. Rabada was expensive against KKR. However, the South African quick knows how to rectify errors. Ravichandran Ashwin and leggie Amit Mishra, will share the spin workload but the entire DC bowling unit needs to be very careful against a side that boasts some quality power-hitters of the T20 format. (IANS)
Match starts at 7:30 pm