Both the teams looked quite strong in their pre-season assessment. They possessed big names, top players, a well-balanced squad thus fulfilling all the criteria needed to be successful in T20 cricket. But the cricket field has an old habit of coming up with the unpredictable. Both the teams are lying at the bottom of the table and struggling to find a win. With RCB hosting Delhi Daredevils at Bangalore, the pair will be looking to break the deadlock of the losses.
Here is how the probable XI Fantasy shape up-
Royal Challengers Bangalore
The much-hyped side has fallen flat in the initial stages of the IPL at least. Virat Kohli after a few lean matches has finally stormed back in form with his half-century followed by the 90-plus inning he played in the last match. He is also the orange cap holder.
The major problem for RCB has been their rest of middle order. One feels that they have failed to make the optimal use of the resources available. Their bowlers apart from Sundar and Chahal have also struggled.
Looking at the backdrop of their poor showing in the recent match, changes are possible for RCB. Sarfraz Khan and Corey Anderson are the most likely to lose their spots. We may see Grandhomme and Pawan Negi or Manan Vohra at the top.
Playing XI –
AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli (c), Umesh Yadav, Mandeep Singh, Chris Woakes, Yuzvendra Chahal, Quinton de Kock (wk), Corey Anderson/Colin De Grandhomme, Sarfaraz Khan/Manan Vohra, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar
Delhi Daredevils:
Delhi Daredevils this season looked like a very strong team. With Gambhir at the top along with Roy, Maxwell -Iyer – Pant in the middle order felt like a good unit put together. The team although so far has failed to win convincingly. Their only win came against Mumbai while chasing.
In the last match of Delhi, their bowling except Tewatia and Boult was terrible. They conceded 200 against Kolkata Knight Riders. In chasing, they folded up. The batting effort was held up only by Pant and Maxwell, rest all caved in and the team collapsed for only 129.
Two weak spots for DD for this match now are Vijay Shankar and Shahbaz Nadeem. They can be replaced by Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Jayant Yadav.
Playing XI –
Gautam Gambhir (c), Jason Roy, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Nadeem/Jayant Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Trent Boult, Vijay Shankar/Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Chris Morris, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tewatia, Rishabh Pant (wk)
