What

The Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals, both coming off defeats in their respective previous matches, will clash in Match 32 of VIVO IPL 2018. DD have two wins from eight matches so far, while the Royals are slightly better off with three wins from seven outings.

In their last outing, the Delhi Daredevils were blown away by Chennai Super Kings’ Shane Watson and MS Dhoni in Pune. DD have problems to address – particularly with their batting line-up. Two batsmen – Rishabh Pant (306 runs) and the newly-appointed captain Shreyas Iyer(257 runs) – have contributed close to 46% of the runs scored by the team’s batsmen. Other than them, there is not one other DD batsman in the top thirty run-getters this season. Glenn Maxwell, signed up by the Daredevils at a fee of INR 9 crore, and expected to be one of the team’s pillars, is the team’s third-highest run-getter; in 7 innings this season, the Australian has only faced 79 deliveries and has scored a total of 126 runs.

The Rajasthan Royals will be hurting from their loss to the Sunrisers Hyderabad. On most days, the Royals would have backed themselves to chase down 152 – the target set by SRH.Not on Sunday evening, when their middle order just didn’t get going; the lull in the middle overs – only boundary hit in a period of 51 balls – meant RR showed no urgency and eventually paid the price, finishing short by 12 runs. RR will also ponder their decision-making in that match: for instance, sending the young-lad MahipalLomror ahead of established strikers like K Gowtham and Jofra Archer.

RR have all the ammunition, but the players haven’t just lived up to their billing. Ben Stokes’ returns so far this season read 147 runs in 7 innings at a strike-rate of 123.52, a solitary wicket and an economy rate of 9.88. Jos Buttler’s aggregate runs after 7 innings: 120 at a strike-rate of 126.31. JaydevUnadkat was a huge investment at the auction, but the left-arm pacer has only picked up 4 wickets in 7 matches and has been expensive too, leaking runs at 10.18.

With the competition getting to that stage where every match and every set of points becomes crucial, will RR get more out of their big ticket buys?The Daredevils are nearly at a stage where they cannot afford to lose any more; will their players be able to raise their game and stitch together a series of wins?

When

2 May 2018, 2000Hrs (IST)

Where

Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi

Impact Batsmen

Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant are the Delhi Daredevils’ men-in-form and will be expected to make big scores. The Rajasthan Royals’ captain Ajinkya Rahane has been hitting the ball brilliantly too, though he will be disappointed that he couldn’t finish off the previous match. Sanju Samson is another of the Royals’ in-form batsmen, and his team will need him to convert starts to a big score – just like he did when he scored the impressive 92 not out against RCB. Time is fast running out for Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, who are yet to make a major contribution with the bat. Will Wednesday be their day?

Impact Bowlers

Trent Boult’s 7-match streak of picking up at least one wicket ended in the previous match against CSK; the Kiwi pacer is DD’s top wicket-taker this season, and DD will need him to return to his wicket-taking ways.

In only two outings, Jofra Archer has collected two 3-wicket hauls to become the Rajasthan Royals’ most successful bowler this season. The 23-year old has bowled lively pace, shown good control and has been impressive with the new ball and at the death. Using K Gowtham to open the bowling has been a very smart move by the Royals; the Karnataka all-rounder has been by and large economical and has dismissed some big names in the opposition. Gowtham’s wickets this season include Brendon McCullum, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Shikhar Dhawan and Alex Hales.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches – 17, Delhi Daredevils won – 6, Rajasthan Royals won – 11

At the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground: Matches – 6, Delhi Daredevils won – 3, Rajasthan Royals won – 3

The Rajasthan Royals have prevailed in their last 7 matches against the Daredevils. The last time DD got the better of the RR was in 2012.

Trivia

Ajinkya Rahane has scored more runs against the Delhi Daredevils than against any other IPL opponent. His record against DD reads: 16 Matches, 677 Runs, 61.55 Average.

In the seven matches so far this, RR’s opponents have only managed opening partnerships of 6, 0, 4, 1, 50, 1 & 17.

The Rajasthan Royals have taken the fewest wickets among all teams; they’ve only managed a total of 33 wickets in their 7 matches.

The Rajasthan Royals have forged the fewest 50-plus partnerships this season – 5.

What Next

The Delhi Daredevils’ next will be their away fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad, scheduled to be played on May 5. The Rajasthan Royals will be seen in action the following day – 6 May, when they take on Kings XI Punjab in Indore.