Rajasthan Royal VS Delhi Capital Match Prediction and Betting Tips
RR vs DC match prediction and analysis
Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals will clash in the 23rd match of IPL 2020 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah on Friday. This will be the 23rd encounter between the two sides, with Rajasthan Royals holding an 11-9 head-to-head advantage against Delhi Capitals. Both sides started their IPL 2020 campaign with a bang, with both sides winning their opening two fixtures of the tournament. However, the Shreyas Iyer led side tasted defeat in the third match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad but has been in terrific form since then, winning the next two matches in emphatic style. On the other hand, Steven Smith’s Rajasthan is yet to secure a win outside Sharjah, losing to Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, and Royal Challengers Bangalore in consecutive matches.
Pitch Report
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium has been a graveyard for the bowlers, with the average first-innings score in IPL 2020 being 219. In three games, over 100 sixes have been hit and another run-fest can be expected on Friday. In those matches, the team, batting first put pressure on the opposition. Hence, teams can avoid chasing though the nature of the pitch won’t change much. The temperature will be around 33 degrees with the humidity in the 50s. Although there is some swing on offer for the pacers early on, the dimensions of the ground play into the batsmen’s hands. The spinners are in for a tough time at this venue, with the batsmen having targeted the short square boundaries in all of the four games played here in IPL 2020. Although the team batting first has won three out of the four games played in Sharjah, both teams would look to chase upon winning the toss with dew likely to play a part in the latter half of the match.
Team Previews
Rajasthan Royals
RR led by Steve Smith needs to find a way in stopping Delhi. The onus for RR is that they won both matches here at Sharjah and will want to use that confidence. The batting upfront needs to come good and lay the foundation for a big score. Tackling the DC bowlers will not be easy and the Royals need to find a way. Ben Stokes is in the UAE but he is going to be in quarantine till the 10th and so is not going to be available for this match. That means RR has few options when it comes to changing things around. We think it might be worth their while to try and get David Miller into the side. His presence would come at the expense of Tom Curran who has not been having a good time with the ball at all.
RR could easily swap out Yashasvi Jaiswal once more and bring in Varun Aaron to strengthen the Indian bowling. It would be a bit tough on the youngster but the IPL is a place where there is no room for emotion.
RR is a very dangerous team in Sharjah. Jos Buttler was in good form in the previous match and just imagine what he could do on a small ground on a good day? We have seen what the likes of Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, and even Rahul Tewatia are capable of already. The batting for RR is powerful and capable of taking down any team on its day.
The problem is going to be bowling. Jofra Archer is terrific but he does not have much support. Tom Curran has struggled, Ankit Rajpoot is lucky to be in the IPL at all, Kartik Tyagi is just one match old and the spinners are always going to struggle on a small ground like Sharjah.
We think RR is going to have to make a couple of changes in its playing eleven once more because it has not yet found its best balance.
Delhi Capitals
DC have ticked the right boxes and need to continue in the same vein. They have a sound bowling unit, led by Kagiso Rabada, who has been excellent. Pacer Anrich Nortje and left-arm spinner Axar Patel have been equally productive. The batting has looked sharp with a lot of versatility in the ranks. Against KKR, DC posted the highest total at Sharjah this season. DC has had a bit of a break after its win against RCB. The team is full of confidence and is incredibly well-coached. We really would like to point out the difference that a coach like Ricky Ponting can make to the setup. He has been on point with his strategy and getting the right set of people in the squad.
The last match that DC played here was one where Shreyas Iyer showed off his six-hitting prowess. He is an amazing striker of the ball, as are a lot of other batsmen in the lineup. We are sure that DC is going to hard from the start given the kind of batting lineup that they have.
Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan can expect some fast stuff from Archer up top. It may be smart to play out his one over in the beginning but that is not the Prithvi Shaw way! If Delhi can see out the threat from Archer then their batting could run all over RR.
With Iyer at three and the likes of Pant, Stoinis, and Hetmyer to follow, there is more than enough batting talent in this team. DC can match RR or even outhit it in the current form.
The bowling composition could change a little. Axar Patel was dropped the last time the Capitals played at Sharjah. With Mishra unavailable, it may be Ishant Sharma that gets a call-up.
The Delhi Capitals are the team to beat in IPL 2020 so far and look the best side alongside the Mumbai Indians. They are not unbeatable but are going to be hard to beat for sure.
RR VS DC BETTING TIPS
We are going to have to stick with the Delhi Capitals in this match even though the threat posed by Buttler and Samson is immense. The bowling attack of Rabada, Nortje, and Ashwin is going to be very tough to score against. DC has a batting at least as strong as RR and a bowling lineup that is far better.
Back the Delhi Capitals to win.
