IPL 2018: Match 19, RCB vs DD, Preview- Teams gasp for breath in bottom of the table clash

In a bid to get their horrendous campaigns back on track, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the Delhi Daredevils will be locking horns at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Both teams have a solitary victory under their belts, which were earned when the game went right down to the wire. The franchises have a lot to ponder about ahead of their upcoming clash.

Delhi looked erratic, but Jason Roy’s inclusion has paid dividends right away, though he faltered against the Knights at the Eden Gardens. Nevertheless, the bowling has looked somewhat off-colour, which hasn’t helped their cause of stemming the run flow. On a batting-friendly wicket, their bowlers will be in for a daunting task to restrict the belligerent on-paper RCB batting lineup.

The Challengers have their own sets of concern as well. Their bowlers have leaked runs, barring a brilliant spell of bowling here and there. Despite having some of the most explosive batsmen in the world, they haven’t quite made a significant impact in the four games. The result of the game might come down to the performance of the bowlers from the team.

Toss: RCB won the toss and elected to bowl first

Delhi Daredevils (Playing XI): Gautam Gambhir(c), Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Glenn Maxwell, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Chris Morris, Shahbaz Nadeem, Harshal Patel, Trent Boult

In: Harshal Patel; Out: Mohammed Shami

Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli(c), Quinton de Kock(w), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Manan Vohra, Corey Anderson, Washington Sundar, Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

In: Manan Vohra; Out: Sarfaraz Khan

Team Combination  

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Parthiv Patel might replace Sarfraz Khan and could be sent to open the batting along with Quinton de Kock. Virat Kohli has been in stupendous form and desperately needs support from the other end. AB de Villiers hasn’t quite lived up to expectations and he needs to deliver as well. Mandeep Singh has been in excellent touch who will be followed by Corey Anderson.

Washington Sundar and Chris Woakes’ also need to make an impact, provided RCB lose those many wickets. The bowling department has also faltered to a large extent. Yuzvendra Chahal, who was expected to restrict the opposition, has been taken for runs. Woakes have also been erratic in the league. Sundar and Siraj’s role will also be vital.

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi won’t tinker with their opening stand in Gautam Gambhir and Jason Roy. Shreyas Iyer is a dependable batsman followed by the aggressors in Glenn Maxwell and Rishabh Pant. Chris Morris has been effective in the limited opportunities he has got. Gurkeerat Singh Mann will add the much-needed depth to their misfiring batting lineup.

Mohammed Shami has been highly disappointing and Harshal Patel might replace him in the eleven. Trent Boult bowled with venom against the Knights and a lot would depend on him regarding how he would perform with the leather. Meanwhile, Amit Mishra might replace Rahul Tewatia after being dropped for the last couple of games. Chris Morris and Shahbaz Nadeem would also have their roles of containing the batsmen.

Players to watch out for

AB de Villiers- Royal Challengers Bangalore

AB de Villiers began the tournament with a couple of handsome knocks but has floundered against Rajasthan and Mumbai respectively. Being an experienced campaigner and one of the most dependable players of the team, the South African cricketer has to hit his straps and help RCB rise from the slump.

Gautam Gambhir- Delhi Daredevils

Gambhir started the tournament handsomely with an impressive half-century against the Kings XI Punjab but hasn’t contributed much since then. With Delhi at the bottom of the table, Gambhir has to deliver, both as a skipper and as a batsman. He can take heart from the fact that he previously has dragged teams out of the pits in the T20 league.

Head to Head

Played- 19, RCB- 11, RR- 6, NR/Tie- 2

Stat Attack

Virat Kohli has a batting average of 73.44 in the IPL against Delhi Daredevils. He scored 661 runs against them in just 16 innings with help of seven fifties.

Gautam Gambhir holds the record for the most number of runs against RCB in the IPL. He scored 644 runs in 19 innings against RCB in the IPL at an average of 33.89 with six fifties.

Broadcast details

TV– Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Jalsha (Bengali), Star Maa Movies (Telegu), Star Sports Tamil

Live Streaming– Hotstar & YuppTv

Match Timings: 20:00 IST, 14:30 GMT

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