Match 46 of the Tata IPL sees a top of the table clash between the Delhi Capitals and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on April 27th.
Here are our Preview and Predictions for the game.
Indian Premier League 2025 | Match 46: Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 19:30 IST, April 27
The Delhi Capitals have looked a different team under Axar Patel this season. With astute additions of KL Rahul and Mitchell Starc in the team paying massive dividends, DC are one of the most balanced sides in the IPL this season. Axar Patel’s approach to captaincy has been a breath of fresh air and they have looked like a formidable opponent, not knowing when they are beaten.
Having won six games out of eight, they are only behind table-toppers Gujarat Titans on a lower net run-rate. Their last match was against the Lucknow Super Giants.
Batting first, LSG openers gave them a solid start with both Aiden Markram (52 off 33 balls) and Mitchell Marsh (45 off 36 balls) getting amongst the runs. However, the dangerous Nicholas Pooran and Abdul Samad both departed for scores in single digits and only Ayush Badoni’s (36 off 21 balls) late blitz took LSG to a decent total of 159/6.
In response, DC batters chased the total down with considerable ease. Abhishek Porel (51 off 36 balls) and KL Rahul (57 not out off 42 balls) scored fifties and captain Axar Patel’s quickfire cameo (36 not out off 20 balls) took DC home with 13 balls to spare.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have also flourished under new captain Rajat Patidar this season. An experienced pace attack coupled with a long dependable batting line up has helped RCB remain in the top half of the table. Adding an explosive batsman in Phil Salt at the top has lessened the pressure on Virat Kohli to get going from the start with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood have provided the early breakthroughs.
In their last game, they played a bottom-of-the table team in Rajasthan Royals at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Batting first, RCB posted a big total of 205/5. Virat Kohli (70 off 42 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (50 off 27 balls) along with Jitesh Sharma (20 not out off 10 balls) helped them get to a big total.
In response, RR looked good to chase the total down till the 18th over. Opener Yashaswi Jaiswal (49 off 19 balls) went after the RR bowlers from the first ball and gave them a quick start. Even though the RR batters all chipped in, no one supported Dhruv Jurel (47 off 34 balls) to take their team home. Josh Hazlewood bowled a superb 19th over, taking two wickets and giving away only one run. Hazlewood took 4/33 in his four overs as RCB literally snatched a win from the jaws of defeat.
Both Delhi Capitals and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru are in form sides and performing well as a collective. However, DC might just edge RCB in the bowling department as they have world class spinners in their side as opposed to RCB who have inexperienced ones.
Fantasy XI: Abhishek Porel, Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Axar Patel (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tristan Stubbs, Tim David, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood.
Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Winner’s Prediction: Delhi Capitals
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