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'Blessed' Shreyas Iyer gears up to captain his seniors at Delhi Capitals

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Young captain says this will be one of the most important seasons of his career

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-20201:25

Shikhar Dhawan: ‘Felt good entering a team bus after six months’

Shreyas Iyer believes the upcoming IPL season will be one of his “most important assignments” as captain. He has been at the helm of the Delhi Capitals since 2018, when he took over halfway into the competition, replacing Gautam Gambhir.”It’s certainly very different from last season, but challenges excite me,” Iyer told IPLT20.com. “As a captain, this is going to be certainly one of my most important assignments just because of how different the setting is. It is going to be very different, the key is to take it one day at a time. We’re being briefed about the do’s and don’ts at every step, it’s crucial that everyone who is part of our team bubble follows that.”Iyer’s elevation to the role has coincided with a sharp turnaround in fortunes, for both Iyer and the Capitals. Iyer, who missed the World Cup bus, has since gone on to cement his position in India’s limited-overs teams on the back of a strong IPL season in which he made 463 runs in 16 innings, third-highest for the team after Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant.As for the fortunes of the team, Capitals finished third at the end of the league stage, with nine wins in 14 matches. They beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in a tense Eliminator, before losing against eventual runners-up Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier-2.Now as he looks forward to leading Capitals again, Iyer has welcomed the addition of two other former IPL captains in R Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane to the side. Both players were acquired through off-season trades, from Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals respectively.”Ashwin and Rahane add tremendous depth to our side and give Ricky and me options to be flexible with our playing XI depending on where we’re playing, who our opposition is and where we are placed in the tournament at a particular time,” Iyer explained. “Also these are two individuals who are highly knowledgeable about the game and have captained IPL teams, so for me as captain, this is an opportunity to use all experience and reach out to them whenever I want to share or discuss anything at all.”Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting have a chat•BCCI

Iyer promised “aggressive and passionate” cricket, traits he felt the Capitals have ingrained from Ricky Ponting, their head coach. Iyer felt being empowered by Ponting to take decisions freely has contributed to him being a better cricketer.”I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to work with someone of his stature, so closely,” Iyer said. “He’s such a legend and makes everyone, from the senior-most to the newest guy feel at home and as a part of this unit. As a captain, he gives me freedom and that has helped me grow as a cricketer.”Capitals have made two forced changes ahead of the season, bringing in Anrich Nortje and Daniel Sams for Chris Woakes and Jason Roy respectively. The England internationals pulled out due to injury concerns, but the team appears well-balanced. Their core is largely Indian, with the presence of Iyer, Rahane, Dhawan, Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Ashwin and Ishant Sharma, all experienced players. Their overseas players include Kagiso Rabada, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and the two signings, among others.Iyer believes the focus this time around is to ensure everyone contributes in unison, instead of having one standout performer through the season. “All pieces of the puzzle need to fall in the right place to be a champion team,” he said. “But the IPL is a long tournament and results keep going up and down invariably. The one thing that worked for us last season for how in each and every match, different players stepped up to the occasion and that was crucial to our success and will be key this year too. Having not just one consistent performer but many of them.”Delhi hasn’t made the IPL finals, but last year we were almost there. That performance gives all of us a massive sense of belief that this bunch can do it. Yes, it will be a different IPL, we will be without our fans but that makes us extra motivated to do this for them. They will be watching and rooting for us, we really want to do this for the Delhi fans.”

'The passion's the same' – Dhawan confident of another successful ICC tournament

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No one has scored as many runs in the last three ICC tournaments, and with a strong IPL behind him, Dhawan is ready to keep his intensity going

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2019Over the last three ICC tournaments, no one has scored more runs than Shikhar Dhawan’s 1113 in 18 innings. Two of those tournaments, the Champions Trophy 2013 and 2017, took place in the UK, where the upcoming World Cup will also be held. With the form and confidence from one of his best IPL seasons to date, the opening batsman is confident about repeating his success in the country.”People tell me about my record in ICC events, but frankly speaking, the intent has always been the same. It’s not that the effort is less than 100% ever,” Dhawan told . “The focus as always is on the process. I am confident that I will have another good ICC tournament.”Dhawan, also the quickest to 1000 runs ICC ODI tournament history, is part of arguably the most dominant ODI opening pair in recent years, with Rohit Sharma, a partnership of a stature similar to what he used to share with David Warner at Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. Ahead of the 2019 season, though, Dhawan was traded to Delhi Capitals where, as a senior player, he was expected to play more of a lead role than a complementary one. Like most challenges he’s had in limited-overs cricket, Dhawan came through, finishing fourth on the run-scorers’ list.The presence of Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly in the Capitals’ leadership as he navigated this new, more aggressive, role helped. “Both Ricky and Dada were successful international captains because they had the ability to create champions. Obviously their experience helps.” Dhawan said. “They told me that there is no problem with my technique.” [My passion is still the same as it was when I started]. I have shut out negativity, primarily because I am a happy-go-lucky person.”Before I made my Test debut, I had played nearly nine years of first-class cricket. Had I not been passionate and hungry, I couldn’t have performed for India after nine years of domestic cricket. Now I have played six years of international cricket. It has been a great journey.”

Afghanistan stun West Indies in warm-up win

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Afghanistan gave West Indies a hint of the struggle that could be in store for them in their bid to reach the 2019 World Cup, after battling back from the brink of a crushing defeat

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2018Afghanistan 163 for 9 (Gulbadin 48, Shenwari 42) beat West Indies 110 (Dawlat 4-26) by 23 runs (DLS)

ScorecardGulbadin Naib appeals for a runout after deflecting a drive onto the stumps•ICC

Afghanistan gave West Indies a hint of the struggle that could be in store for them in their bid to reach the 2019 World Cup, after battling back from the brink of a crushing defeat to pull off a remarkable victory in their warm-up encounter in Harare, ahead of next week’s ICC World Cup Qualifiers.The two teams are among the favourites to claim the final two spots for next year’s tournament in England, but for West Indies, two-time world champions in 1975 and 1979, failure to progress would be a particularly ignominious moment in their history.And the manner in which they capitulated in this contest, first with ball and then bat, will have given them few reasons for optimism going into their opening fixture against UAE next week, even though they have welcomed back into their ranks the likes of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, who played key roles in their triumphs at the World T20 in 2012 and 2016.After winning the toss and choosing to field first, West Indies appeared to have the contest in their pocket after reducing Afghanistan to 71 for 8 in 23 overs. Without their captain, Asghar Stanikzai, who has been hospitalised with appendicitis, Afghanistan appeared rudderless as the left-arm seamer, Sheldon Cottrell, set the tone with two wickets in the first five overs of the match.But Afghanistan’s spirit is redoubtable at the best of times, and when Samiullah Shenwari and Gulbadin Naib came together in a ninth-wicket stand of 91 in 11.5 overs, Afghanistan found themselves back in the contest.With bad weather reducing the match to a 35-over affair, West Indies lost Gayle and Shai Hope early as they chased a revised total of 140, but Evin Lewis and Marlon Samuels appeared to have steadied the pursuit with a stand of 44.However, Sharafuddin Ashraf bagged Lewis and Jason Mohammed for a duck in the space of four balls to leave West Indies teetering on 80 for 4, and when Shapoor Zadran added Samuels for 34 three overs later, the writing was on the wall.Dawlat Zadran returned to rip through the tail with final figures of 4 for 26, which included a hat-trick that saw the end of Shimron Hetmyer (caught at gully by Najibullah Zadran), Rovman Powell (caught by Mohammad Shahzad) and Carlos Brathwaite (lbw) off successive deliveries of his fifth over. Captain Rashid Khan – the newly crowned No.1 bowler in ODI and T20I cricket – subsequently sniped out the final two West Indies wickets with his legspin.

Latham hundred leads NZ fightback

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A sixth Test century from the opening batsman has helped his team reduce the deficit to 303 runs by the end of the third day

The Report by Alagappan Muthu13-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:02

Isam: Bangladesh pacers didn’t look too penetrative

Winds of change blew over Wellington on the third day as Tom Latham became only the second New Zealand opener to make a century at Basin Reserve since 1931. His 119 slashed the deficit down to 303 and though he spent all but one hour of play today at the batting crease, no one learnt anything new about him. That, in itself, was remarkable.Latham has always been strong on the cut and the flick – 83 of his runs came behind the wicket. He succeeds by playing the ball late, and close to the body. Most of all, his ability to bat on and on, without feeling flustered by scoreboard pressure, without allowing his concentration to be upset, was on show again. While wondering how to describe the innings, it was hard not to imagine Latham as a jukebox and one of his fans taking full control of it for the entire day.Bangladesh, meanwhile, were like that person who becomes the life of the party for the first time. They began the day on 542 for 7, batting through the first hour when they could easily have cracked on and bowled. They had had a taste of the limelight and didn’t want to give it up. Then again, considering one of their bowlers picked up a wicket off his first ball of the match and another on Test debut – and playing his first first-class match in four years – dismissed one of the best batsman in the world when he was well set, they earned the right to live it up a bit.

Latham’s rare ton

  • 2 New Zealand openers to score a century in the last 58 Tests at Basin Reserve.  Both New Zealand openers – Stewie Demptser and Jackie Mills – had got hundreds in the first ever Test at this venue in 1930. Since then John Wright was the only centurion, before Latham.

  • 6 Hundreds by Latham in 27 Tests – already the third most for any New Zealand opener.  Wright made 12 hundreds in 80 Tests and Glenn Turner made seven in 38 Tests.

  • 1 Only instance before this Test when each of New Zealand’s first-four wickets added 50 or more runs in an innings – in the Dunedin Test against Sri Lanka in 1996-97.

  • 1 Higher totals by Bangladesh in Tests than their first-innings score of 595 for 8. They had made 638 against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2012-13.

  • 1 Only previous instance when five Bangladesh batsmen got fifty-plus scores in a Test innings – against against West Indies in Mirpur in 2012-13. Sabbir Rahman – who was not out on 10 overnight – was the fifth Bangladesh batsman to score fifty or more in their first innings in Wellington

Taskin Ahmed and long-form cricket have been on break since 2013. It was just too demanding and his body just couldn’t keep up. The 21-year-old fast bowler could have picked up a wicket in his first over back but he had a catch dropped in the slips. He suffered further, conceding 10 fours in his 15 overs but, eventually, he found the edge again and Kane Williamson, having just got to fifty, was walking back. Taskin had hit the jackpot as far as maiden Test wickets were concerned and a smile as poignant as the tears he shed upon receiving his Bangladesh cap from bowling coach Courtney Walsh indicated he knew it too.New Zealand, for their part, made sure the bowlers had to produce moments of brilliance to earn their wickets. The pitch was flat, it had perhaps got a bit quicker as well after two days in the sun, meaning there was little danger in hitting the ball through the line. That fact was best represented by the middle session’s numbers: 131 runs in 25 overs at 5.24 per over. Ross Taylor, back in the New Zealand team after eye surgery, was whacking the ball so beautifully that there was no question of his form being affected by the break. One of the few times he mistimed a shot – perhaps it was the first time – he was caught at square leg for 40 off 51.New Zealand’s rush for runs was instigated by their captain. It was unclear whether Williamson was venting against the fact that he had captained the team into giving away their second-biggest total – 595 for 8 – after inserting the opposition but he did begin his innings with a flurry of boundaries. There were three in four balls – a punch through mid-off, a flick through square leg and a glide past gully, all of the back foot.Confirmation that Williamson was indeed going on a cathartic rant came in the 22nd over. For one, it was set off by a perfectly innocuous thing – a back of a length delivery on fourth stump. For another, he went to a great deal of effort to make his point, leaping up off his toes to get on top of the bounce while still somehow keeping the bat face straight. That poor red Kookaburra was so scared that it went and hid at the point boundary. Most of his runs came off the back foot, but when he was asked to come forward to a good length delivery just outside off stump in the 34th over, he feathered an edge through to stand-in wicketkeeper Imrul Kayes. The regular man behind the stumps, the Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim, had injured his fingers taking blows to the hand while batting yesterday and did not take the field. Vice-captain Tamim Iqbal led the side in his absence.Latham’s innings was the library to Williamson’s theme park. There were neat little glides behind point and deft little flicks through square led and midwicket. He frustrated the opposition with leaves and looked the perfect man for the rest of the line-up to bat around. Jeet Raval, though, couldn’t quite pull off that mandate. He was given a life in the 10th over when Sabbir Rahman shelled a catch at third slip, but the next time he nicked a ball behind the wicket, courtesy Kamrul Islam Rabbi’s extra bounce, he was gone. But not before he had given New Zealand the chance to record fifty-plus stands for all of their first four wickets, for only the second time in Test cricket. Latham was involved in all of four stands.He was excellent against Mehedi Hasan’s offspin, a result of his picking the length early, moving forward or back decisively. The 19-year-old had taken the new ball – making it the first instance of a specialist spinner opening the bowling in his team’s first innings of a Test in New Zealand – but struggled to keep his rhythm in conditions – read: the wind – that he had never faced before. The other man playing his first Test abroad fared better. Sabbir completed a half-century before Bangladesh took the opportunity to declare their innings – something they had only done twice on past tours.

Triffitt helps Tasmania after shaky start

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Veteran fast bowler Michael Hogan troubled Tasmania’s batting order before Tom Triffitt helped the Tigers recover to be 6 for 210 at stumps on the first day against Western Australia in Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2015
ScorecardMichael Hogan finished the day with 3 for 32 (file photo)•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Veteran fast bowler Michael Hogan troubled Tasmania’s batting order before Tom Triffitt helped the Tigers recover to be 6 for 210 at stumps on the first day against Western Australia in Perth. Rain affected the day and limited play to 75.2 overs, and at the close Triffitt was still at the crease on 55, with Xavier Doherty on 22.Tasmania had been sent in on a greenish pitch and Hogan was difficult to get away early, at one stage having the figures of 6-5-1-2 as he got rid of both Jordan Silk and Beau Webster. Simon Mackin and David Moody also struck but George Bailey and James Faulkner then tried to rebuild, taking the score from 4 for 61 to 5 for 121 before Bailey edged Moody to slip on 27.Faulkner moved along to 46 from 81 deliveries before he was lbw to Hogan, who finished the day with 3 for 32 from 19 overs, including eight maidens.

Bowlers help India seal series

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India opened without their first-choice pair and still did not have any trouble in beating Bangladesh by seven wickets to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the Twenty20 international series

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2013
Scorecard
India opened without their first-choice pair and still did not have any trouble in beating Bangladesh by seven wickets to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the Twenty20 international series. Bangladesh were restricted to 88 after choosing to bat, and Anagha Deshpande and Mona Meshram put on 52 upfront as the hosts eased to victory in 18 overs.Bangladesh lost just four wickets but were never able to get going, an opening stand of 30 in 9.3 overs between Shahanaz Parvin and Farzana Haque summing up their struggles. Shukhtara Rahman and Salma Khatun tried to make something out of the remaining overs but the former’s run-out in the 17th over dented Bangladesh’s hopes of a late charge. India’s bowlers kept a tight control over proceedings through the innings, left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht setting the tone with a spell of 1 for 11 in four overs along with medium-pacer Nagarajan Niranjana’s 1 for 14.Thirush Kamini did not bat in the chase, and her opening partner and vice-captain Poonam Raut came in as low as No. 5. Deshpande and Meshram ensured India did not miss their regular openers, who had put on 130 in the first T20.Panna Ghosh took a couple of quick wickets to reduce India to 63 for 3 but captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Raut were around to steer their side home.

England edge attritional day – Finn

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Steven Finn praised the hard work of England’s bowlers after returning to the attack for the second Test against Sri Lanka

Andrew McGlashan in Colombo03-Apr-2012Steven Finn has waited a long time to get his place back in England’s Test team but he probably wished it was on a nice green-top rather than the parched, slow surface that greeted him in Colombo.However, despite England’s recent problems with the batting there is one thing the last few months have confirmed for certain. The bowling attack does not shirk a challenge. Heads could easily have dropped after Andrew Strauss lost another toss, or as Mahela Jayawardene constructed another hundred, but the discipline they have shown almost without fail was in evidence throughout the day.”As seamers we are all stupid enough to just run in every time the captain tosses you the ball,” Finn said. “It’s one of those things, you just have to suck it up and get on with it. I had a bit of cramp come the end of the day but that’s part and parcel of fast bowling.”Finn, who last played a Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, contributed 18 overs and although his figures do not stand out like some of his recent one-day hauls he played an important role in the reshuffled attack which reverted to three quicks, Graeme Swann and the support of Samit Patel’s left-arm spin.Finn highlighted the qualities he can bring to the line-up in a testing burst against Thilan Samaraweera who firstly survived a review for a catch at short leg and was then struck on the helmet when he failed to avoid a well-directed bouncer. It was a blow that shook Samaraweera: “For a few moments I wasn’t sure what had happened,” he said.England, though, were convinced they had removed him on 36 when the ball looped to Alastair Cook under the helmet. “I said to Straussy I heard two noises and was pretty sure it was glove then thigh pad,” Finn said. “Such is life it didn’t get given and we didn’t let it affect us. We kept plugging away, the worst thing we could have done is get pent up about the decision.”In the dressing room there was, perhaps, a little less calm response as Andy Flower, the team director, was seen making a quick visit to the umpires’ room to clarify the decision. “Andy is passionate about English cricket and winning and I’m sure it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary,” Finn said. “The downside of not having Hot Spot is there’s no conclusive evidence. We just have to get on with it.”England’s rewards came late in the day as Sri Lanka lost Mahela Jayawardene moments before the new ball was taken and Prasanna Jayawardene, edging Finn to the wicketkeeper, shortly before the close. When England were not taking wickets, such as during the 124-run stand between Mahela Jayawardene and Samaraweera, they did not allow the run-rate to escalate and, unlike in Galle last week, managed to maintain their intensity during the final session.”The fact they did not really go anywhere, they are 230 off 90 overs, maybe swings it a little bit to our favour,” Finn said. “I thought we played some good, attritional cricket and were very patient and we got our rewards towards the back end of the day. Jayawardene played very well and assessed the conditions excellently, but I thought that as a bowling unit we did good all day.”The leader in every sense, though, was James Anderson as he ended the day with 3 for 52 to follow his five-wicket haul in Galle. Finn, who made his Test debut in Bangladesh in 2009-10 in conditions not dissimilar to this during a series where Anderson was rested, was often seen sharing words with his senior team-mate at the end of his run.”I’ve learnt a lot off Jimmy since I’ve come into the team, especially over the last 12 months,” Finn said. “He’s an exceptional bowler and as a young bowler you can look towards him and how he gets his wickets. He knows how to extract the maximum movement, nip, swing or whatever in any given conditions and to have him talking to me as I’m walking back to my mark helps me get my mindset right. I feel as though I’m learning all the time.”Edited by Alan Gardner

Bopara eager to cement place

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Ravi Bopara, who replaced the injured Eoin Morgan in the England squad, has said that he is ready to seize his opportunity.

Sriram Veera in Bangalore24-Feb-2011Ravi Bopara, who replaced the injured Eoin Morgan in the England squad and is fighting with Michael Yardy for a place in the playing XI, has said that he is not thinking about his competition and is ready to seize his opportunity.”It is a big opportunity to get back into the side,” Bopara said ahead of the game against India in Bangalore. “I have got two opportunities so far, one in the warm-up game and then in the opening match. I haven’t thought about that competition [with Yardy]. I am just trying to do my best in every practice session. If you are doing well in the nets, batting well and bowling well, I have got a good chance of making the side.”Bopara said his IPL experience will stand him in good stead and also spoke about his Ashes debacle in 2009 that cost him his place in the team. “I know what the pitch is likely to do in the subcontinent. IPL has definitely made me a better player and more confident.” It was after the 2009 IPL that he scored the last two of his three successive hundreds against West Indies, but everything went pear shaped for him in the Ashes series that followed. Bopara put his Ashes debacle down to anxiety.”I played that Ashes after scoring three successive 100s and I expected too much from myself and it didn’t work out. I have done a lot of work since Ashes not only on Test cricket but ODIs as well. Playing in different countries makes a massive difference – South African conditions, New Zealand and obviously India. I have not put too much pressure on myself now.”England struggled in their opening game of the World Cup against the Netherlands before squeaking home at the end, Bopara, who made an unbeaten 30 in that game, said England weren’t their “usual self” but can still draw positives from chasing down a big total. “293 is a big score against any side, especially in India where the wickets get slower and lower. It is harder to bat. We batted brilliantly, especially our top [order].” Bopara said his aim was to remain unbeaten and guide England through to the target. “We always knew we were going to win the game but I had to ensure that I was there till the end to finish it off. It does help the confidence. The warm-up against Pakistan also helped. Match practice is the best thing you can get.”He was also realistic enough to recognise that his breezy 30 was not enough to move him up the order. “Obviously I love to bat high up in the team. My ambition is to get higher and higher. At the moment, we are playing well at the top order and it is hard to get in there. To win the World Cup we need the guys at the top to fire.”England play India in Bangalore next and the talk has centred on the number of spinners the hosts might play. Bopara said England won’t fuss about it. “If it is a spinning deck we have got our own spinners who can cause problems. A pitch that spins is going to cause trouble for any team. It is going to cause problems for India as well. And if the conditions don’t suit spin we don’t have to worry about it. We know in places like Bangalore, there can be high totals 270-300.”It is a good wicket to bat on especially against the seamers. It slides on to the bat quite nicely. Last time I played in Bangalore it did not spin. It’s going to be a good game.”

Steven Smith stars with the ball as NSW win

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Steven Smith backed up his fine batting with a maiden five-wicket haul as New South Wales handed South Australia the wooden spoon

Cricinfo staff12-Mar-2010New South Wales 9 for 550 dec beat South Australia 267 (Borgas 62, Harris 54, Copeland 4-55) and 244 (Cosgrove 105, J Smith 79, S Smith 7-64) by an innings and 39 runs

ScorecardSteven Smith finished the match with a career best 7 for 64•Getty Images

Steven Smith backed up his fine batting with a maiden five-wicket haul as New South Wales handed South Australia the wooden spoon at the SCG. Smith, the 20-year-old legspinner, was picked in the Test squad to go to New Zealand and since the announcement has scored 100 and collected a stunning 7 for 64 off 16 overs.Smith’s previous best in a first-class game was 3 for 99, but he was a huge threat on a third-day wicket as the Redbacks were bowled out for 244 in their second innings. The visitors had been forced to follow-on after lunch, having been dismissed for 267, and suffered an innings and 39-run defeat.Smith started his collection by removing James Smith and Cameron Borgas to short balls, but grew in confidence as he had Mark Cosgrove lbw playing back to a low delivery. Tim Ludeman went in similar fashion, Aaron O’Brien inside-edged to short leg and Daniel Christian pushed forward to gain a nick behind. The game finished when Smith had Peter George taken by Peter Nevill, with the final eight wickets dropping for 60 runs.Cosgrove had kept South Australia afloat for much of the day with a brisk 105, which included 76 runs in boundaries. James Smith, who registered 79, put on 167 with Cosgrove as they tried to reach the 283 needed to make New South Wales bat again. While the Redbacks have qualified for the Champions League Twenty20, they finished last in the Shield, while New South Wales ended up in third.

In-form RCB and Delhi Capitals meet with playoffs hopes on the line

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Axar Patel will lead DC with Rishabh Pant suspended for this crucial game

Karthik Krishnaswamy11-May-20243:34

Aaron: Not going to be easy for RCB to dominate Axar and Kuldeep

Match details

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (7th, P12, W5, L7) vs Delhi Capitals (5th, P12, W6, L6)
Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture: Has the surge come too late for RCB and DC?

RCB have won their last four games on the bounce, and Delhi Capitals have won three of their last five. Their key players have clicked in unison more often than not over recent weeks. Unfortunately for both teams, though, all this may have come a little too late in the season. Both teams are still in contention for the playoffs, but neither has its destiny entirely in its own hands – read this for a more in-depth understanding of where they stand.Both teams can still control their ends of the bargain, though, and this is what RCB and DC will look to do going into their first meeting of the season, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday night. DC are better-placed than RCB at this stage, with two extra points from the same number of games, but they might just be underdogs going into this contest. RCB are in a serious run of form, and they will be backed by one of the most fervent home crowds in the tournament. And DC, most significantly, will be without their captain and talisman Rishabh Pant.

Form guide

Royal Challengers Bengaluru WWWWL (last five completed games, most recent first)
Delhi Capitals WLWWL

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB have used either Glenn Maxwell or Lockie Ferguson as their fourth overseas player in recent games, depending on conditions and opposition. Maxwell’s record against Kuldeep Yadav (79 off 45 balls, four dismissals, strike rate of 175.55) could prompt RCB to play him in this match, given how much better DC’s attack looks when the left-arm wristspinner is able to control proceedings. If RCB play Ferguson instead, expect Mahipal Lomror to play rather than Vijaykumar Vyshak.Possible XII 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Will Jacks, 4 , 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Swapnil Singh, 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Vijaykumar Vyshak, 12 .Delhi Capitals
DC coach Ricky Ponting has confirmed Axar Patel will captain the team in Pant’s absence. He also suggested that David Warner – who has missed four successive games with a hand injury – could be fit to return, having trained on both Friday and Saturday. Ponting, meanwhile, hinted at an opposition-specific bowling selection, with the Australian quick Jhye Richardson in line to play as a new-ball specialist to try and break through a strong RCB top order.Which Indian batter comes in for Pant remains to be seen. Prithvi Shaw is an option, but with Ponting indicating that Abishek Porel was likely to continue opening, DC may prefer a middle-order batter, in which case Yash Dhull or Kumar Kushagra could get a game.Possible XII 1 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 2 Abishek Porel (wk), 3 David Warner/Shai Hope, 4 , 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Lalit Yadav/Sumit Kumar, 8 , 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mukesh Kumar, 11 Jhye Richardson, 12 .Axar Patel will lead DC in Rishabh Pant’s absence•BCCI

In the spotlight

At the 12-game mark in the season, DC have the spin attack with the best collective average of all teams this season (24.88) and the fourth-best economy rate (8.18). Up against them through the middle overs, though, will be Rajat Patidar, who has the second-best strike rate against spin (229.85) of any batter who has scored at least 100 runs against that style of bowling this season. With Virat Kohli also having upped his intent and shot range against spin in recent games, with telling effect, we could be in for a mouthwatering middle-overs battle.RCB have opened the bowling with a spinner in each of their last four games, with either left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh or offspinner Will Jacks bowling the first over depending on their opposition’s opening combination. It will be interesting to see if they try this tactic against DC, who will have a left-right combination if either Warner or Porel opens alongside Jake Fraser-McGurk. And no matter who bowls at him, Fraser-McGurk will look to hit the ball out of the park. He’s struck at 255.20 in the powerplay this season, going at 244.57 against pace in this phase, and a ludicrous 323.07 against spin.

Stats that matter

  • RCB have won four of the last five meetings between these two teams.
  • In 11 T20s, Kohli has only been out once to Axar, but he’s only scored 78 off 71 balls against the left-arm spinner. DC will be happy for the match-up to continue in this manner, but the events of recent matches suggest that Kohli may play Axar differently if he gets the chance, bringing out his rediscovered sweep and slog-sweep at every opportunity.
  • Dinesh Karthik enjoys batting against Khaleel Ahmed, scoring 28 off 14 balls against the left-arm quick while only being dismissed once.
  • Tristan Stubbs (187 runs at a strike rate of 296.82) and Karthik (180 at 233.76) are the most prolific run-scorers in the death overs (17-20) in IPL 2024.

Pitch and conditions

It’s no surprise that the match that produced the record IPL total and the record run aggregate for any T20 game came at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. It’s a bit of a surprise, though, that there have been no 200-plus totals in any of the other four matches at the venue so far this season. There was early help for the new ball in the most recent match here, where RCB bowled Gujarat Titans out for 147, and it will be interesting to see if conditions on Sunday night bring fast bowlers into the game in a similar way. It has rained on and off in the evenings in the week leading up to the match, and weather interruptions could be likely.

Quotes

“The position I was going [in] to bat was very challenging for me, because this year I’ve got a new role, getting to play in the middle order, so I’ve done some changes […] I spoke with Virat , DK , who have a lot of experience, so I think that helped a lot […] If you’re going at the top of the order, you get some extra cushion to think and plan your innings, but if you’re going around the 10th-11th over, you don’t get that cushion. You have to be really quick in making your decision. It helped me a lot to talk with the great players in our team.”
“Obviously Rishabh Pant is not there, so we’ve got to think about an Indian middle-order player potentially to come in for him. David Warner missed the last game. He got that nasty knock on his hand about a month ago now, hasn’t played a game since. He trained really strongly yesterday. He’s here now. He’ll be up hitting balls in the middle now, so he’ll be doing some more batting today, so hopefully he’s available for selection tomorrow. There’s a chance against RCB as well, with their dominance at the top of the order, that we might think about changing our bowling line-up as well, someone like a Jhye Richardson to bring into the side as a specialist new-ball bowler to potentially take early wickets against RCB.”