Confidence booster Rajasthan takes on strong Delhi in Wednesday encounter of the Indian T20 League 2020.
Match Timings: Oct 14, 7:30 PM IST
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The much-needed victory appeared for Rajasthan against Hyderabad and somehow, Ben Stokes came out as a lucky charm for his side after four consecutive defeats. On Sunday, Rajasthan pulled off a great comeback after losing the top order on a pretty low score and the required run-rate was giving them a tough time. Riyan Parag’s terrific batting show gave them a lifeline in middle-order and Tewatia proved his worth with yet another match-winning knock. Smith tried Stokes in the opening slot but it didn’t work. The batting issues are still unsolved and this puzzle can again hurt them later in the tournament. Bowling has been slightly better as Kartik Tyagi did better in his first couple of games and Archer is taking the charge with the new ball. In spin, Shreyas Gopal and Tewatia both are excellent. Rajasthan still needs to fix their errors but this win gives them huge confidence to back their batsmen.
Meanwhile, Delhi suffered a 5-wickets loss against Mumbai on Sunday and ahead of the second half of the tournament, Ponting got some questions which will be solved. Rahane’s inclusion in the top-order was a fine step from Iyer. Dhawan couldn’t accelerate much but played a fine knock. While defending the total, Delhi got Rohit early but they couldn’t hold the pressure in middle-overs. The more reliability on Rabada is not good for them as other bowlers have to step up for Delhi. Pant will miss this gamer as well due to the injury. For Delhi, playoffs are coming with easy hands but they need to carry their winning streak to take the first or second spot in the table. High-flying Rajasthan can do the damage if Delhi gave them slight chances in Dubai.
Pitch Report
Dubai’s surface is good for batting but it’s now getting into a pure spinning track. The track is getting slower so the first hour is crucial for batsmen. Chasing is still a tough call so the toss will be important.
Possible XI
Delhi
Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje
Rajasthan
Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Steven Smith (c), Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi
Key Players
Delhi
Kagiso Rabada
Season so far – M: 7, Wickets: 17, Avg: 12.52
Shreyas Iyer
Season so far – M: 7, Runs: 245, Avg: 40.83
Rajasthan
Rahul Tewatia
Season so far – M: 7, Runs: 189, Avg: 37.80, Wickets: 5
Jofra Archer
Season so far – M: 7, Wickets: 9, Avg: 21.22
