What

The Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore will come up against each other in Match 45 of VIVO IPL 2018.

The Daredevils, after the loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous match, are for all practical purposes out of the race to the playoffs; there exists one minuscule probability of them progressing. For that to happen, they need to win their remaining three matches convincingly and hope other results will be favorable to them. Other than that, their performance will definitely have an influence on the fortunes of the other contenders – like RCB in this match.

The Royal Challengers languish seventh in the table with three wins from 10 matches. The equation for Virat Kohli’s team is simple: they cannot afford another slip-up – like the one which resulted in the loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad at the start of the week. RCB need to win their remaining four matches to stay in contention and hope other results will fall into place to allow them to progress to the playoffs. The RCB captain Kohli said in one of the games that his team find themselves where they do because they haven’t clicked as a unit; when the batsmen have done well, the bowlers haven’t, and vice-versa. That cannot happen anymore; they need all departments firing on all cylinders and to perform at their absolute best.

When

12 May 2018, 2000Hrs (IST)

Where

Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi

Impact Batsmen

After his scintillating 128 not out against Sunrisers Hyderabad – the highest score by an Indian batsman in T20 cricket, all eyes will be on the young Rishabh Pant to see if he can continue from where he left off. The 20-year old has a liking for the RCB bowling attack too; he’s made scores of 57, 45 & 85 in his last three innings against them. One should also keep a close watch on Shreyas Iyer and Prithvi Shaw – DD’s two other batsmen who have looked good this season.

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers are the two pillars in the RCB batting line-up; between them, they’ve contributed over 40% of the team’s runs. Captain Kohli will be disappointed that despite getting starts almost every time, he has only gone past the 50-run mark on three occasions – all three of them in losing causes. Two of de Villiers’s three half-centuries resulted in wins for RCB, while the third was nearly good enough – before MS Dhoni’s blitz clinched a win for CSK. RCB will need the South African to halt his brief run of single-digit scores; in his last two innings, de Villiers has been dismissed for 1 & 5.

Impact Bowlers

Among the quicks in both sides, Trent Bout (DD) and Umesh Yadav (RCB) have been extremely successful. The latter has been particularly good with the new ball and when the field restrictions are in force; no one has taken more wickets in the powerplay overs than Umesh Yadav, who has an outstanding economy rate (6.36) in that period too.

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches – 20, Delhi Daredevils won – 6, Royal Challengers Bangalore won – 13, No Result – 1

In Delhi: Matches – 7, Delhi Daredevils won – 2, Royal Challengers Bangalore won – 5

Royal Challengers Bangalore have the wood on the Delhi Daredevils, particularly in recent times; RCB have a 12-1 win-loss record against DD in the last 14 matches. RCB have emerged victors on each of their last five visits to the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground.

Trivia

Virat Kohli averages 83.75 in IPL matches at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground; he has made 4 half-centuries in his last 5 IPL matches at the venue.

What Next

For Delhi Daredevils: Home fixture Vs. Chennai Super Kings, May 18.

For Royal Challengers Bangalore: Away fixture Vs. Kings XI Punjab, May 14.