Coming on the back of improbable wins, both Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore will not want to leave anything to chance and put up a better batting display in a crucial IPL contest in New Delhi on Saturday.
While RCB are better placed than Delhi in the standings, the Faf du Plessis-led side can't afford any slip ups with the IPL reaching its business end.
Delhi, who have had a tournament to forget so far, needed something to go their way and it did in the low-scoring thriller against table leaders Gujarat Titans.
Back in action after three weeks, pacer Khaleel Ahmed and veteran Ishant Sharma got Delhi out of a hole and kept them alive in the competition.
After a win like that, the morale of any team would be high but Delhi will need to find a way to bat well against the star studded RCB.
Skipper David Warner was at pains to explain their batting troubles after their previous game. The performance of Indian batters remains a big concern but the effort of Aman Hakim Khan and Ripal Patel after a batting collapse offers hope to the struggling outfit.
Phil Salt at the top has either gone boom or bust in the four chances given to him so far while Warner has not got runs in his last three innings. Warner's strike rate has also been a subject of debate but that can be attributed to the collective batting failure of the side.
Batting at three, Priyam Garg looked out of place against high quality fast bowling and he would want to prove his doubters wrong. The team also expects a lot more from the experienced Manish Pandey.
The in form Axar Patel batted at six against Gujarat but there is a case for him to bat higher up the order.
Considering the game involves Virat Kohli, the stadium is expected to be packed to the rafters.
The RCB star had a lengthy nets session on Thursday before he headed back into the pavillion named after him. Following an ugly spat with Gautam Gambhir after the win over LSG, Kohli will be fired up as ever to let his bat do the talking.
Kedar Jadhav, who not so long ago was part of the commentary team, finds himself in the thick of action after getting a surprise call up from RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar midway into the tournament.
The former India batter is expected to solve RCB's middle-order issues, something which has plagued them all through the season.
On a tacky wicket at Lucknow, the bowlers bailed the team out of trouble. Mohammad Siraj got much needed support from a fit again Josh Hazlewood, and both bowlers made impact with the new ball.
The spinners Karn Sharma and Wanindu Hasaranga also revelled in friendly conditions but the strip at Feroz Shah Kotla and small dimensions will make their task much tougher.
Squads:
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.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (captain), Akash Deep, Finn Allen, Anuj Rawat, Avinash Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Michael Bracewell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Siddarth Kaul, Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajan Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karn Sharma, Himanshu Sharma, Sonu Yadav, Vijaykumar Vyshak, David Willey. Match starts 7.30 IST.
