Battered and bruised by raw pace in back-to-back matches, Delhi Capitals's batting unit is likely to find some breathing space on a featherbed when they take on Rajasthan Royals in an afternoon IPL match in Guwahati on Saturday.
Mark Wood (Lucknow Super Giants) and Alzarri Joseph (Gujarat Titans) scarred the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan in Delhi’s line-up in the first two games. Now, when these talented but low on confidence willow wielders face an attack comprising Trent Boult, KM Asif and Jason Holder they will have to negotiate speeds of mid-130 kmph.
However, the guile and artistry of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal on a hot late afternoon and early evening in Guwahati won't be a pleasant proposition either, though pattern of scores at the Barsapara Stadium suggests that batters get value for their shots and one can plonk his front-foot and hit through the line.
Another aspect that might give some relief to Delhi Capitals could be the absence of the dangerous Jos Buttler, who received stitches on the little finger of his left hand after sustaining a bruise while taking a catch in the last game.
The bruised area with stitches is likely to remain sore and soft and it will be difficult to field even though batting with extra padding inside the gloves remains an option. In case Buttler is unable to play, Joe Root could be an option.
Delhi Capitals, on paper, despite Rishabh Pant's absence, looked good, but the frailties of Shaw and Sarfaraz while facing international bowlers, who are 10 miles quicker than their Indian counterparts, has created a lot of problems, which the side wouldn't have initially comprehended.
There hasn't been too many silver-linings for DC in the two defeats so far and the main drawback of the team is poor bench-strength in terms of Indian talent, which doesn't inspire confidence.
Even if the coaching staff wants to try other options in place of Sarfaraz, DC, in its Indian batting roster only has Yash Dhull, Ripal Patel and Lalit Yadav to fall back upon and none of them are players who can score at a strike-rate of 150.
At Guwahati, any total less than 190 will be easy pickings for the team chasing but the afternoon match will certainly negate the dew factor to some extent unlike the earlier game when Punjab Kings's bowlers were finding it difficult to grip the ball seam up.
For Rajasthan Royals, Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Sanju Samson have been in good nick in the first two games and should pose a challenge for the likes of Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav.
The two aspects in DC's strategy that will be looked upon with keen interest is usage of 'Impact Player' and Axar Patel's utility as a bowler with southpaws Jaiswal and Shimron Hetmyer batting in top six.
In case of 'Impact Player', Aman Hakim Khan has been used in the first two games and DC coach Ricky Ponting does speak highly of the Mumbai youngster. But in both the matches, there wasn't much on display.
In case of Axar, skipper David Warner is wary of giving him the ball when left-handers are at the crease due to his poor match-ups in the past.
While Rovman Powell is a big hitter, he has issues while tackling spinners, so there is every chance that Rilee Rossouw will continue.
Rajasthan Royals, despite losing their earlier match, remains favourite to win this one.
Teams (from):
Delhi Capitals: David Warner (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Hakim Khan, Abhishek Porel (wk), Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Rovman Powell, Rilee Rossouw, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahaman, Chetan Sakariya, Mukesh Kumar, Phil Salt, Lungi Ngidi, Praveen Dubey, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vicky Ostwal, Ishant Sharma, Manish Pandey, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Yash Dhull.
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Jos Buttler (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, KM Asif, Trent Boult, Dhruv Jurel, Kunal Singh Rathore, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, Joe Root, Donovan Ferreira, KC Cariappa, Abdul Basith, Obed McCoy, Akash Vasisth, Sandeep Sharma, Adam Zampa, Murugan Ashwin.
Match Starts: 3:30 pm.
