Two teams that do not have much hopes of making to the playoffs will square off against each other. While Delhi Daredevils are officially out of the race to top four, RCB is just in mathematically. With such low net run-rate, it is almost impossible for them to make it to the first four. Delhi will host Bangalore at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Here is how the probable XI shape up-
Royal Challengers Bangalore
The much-hyped side has fallen flat in the IPL at least. Virat Kohli has had a hot and cold IPL. AB De Villiers has not been himself after picking up the fever in India. The team combination has been a mess and they have been experimenting with the playing XI since the start.
Virat Kohli
In the last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, RCB was flattened out by the superior team. They bowled well to keep SRH under 150 but their batting failed again. Their chase against the best bowling attack was cut short and they lost by 5 runs.
The inclusion of Manan Vohra at the top and Moeen Ali in the middle has given RCB much flexibility. Even though they lost the last match, this playing XI was very well balanced and should be continued with.
Playing XI –
Parthiv Patel (wk), AB de Villiers, Tim Southee, Virat Kohli (c), Umesh Yadav, Mandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme, Manan Vohra, Mohammed Siraj
Delhi Daredevils:
The young team under Shreyas Iyer has not won many matches but it is winning hearts. Prithvi Shaw at the top, Pant and Iyer in the middle order have been excellent with the bat and have put up a stellar show consistently. Pant’s 128* in the last match was a record-breaking spectacle.
In the last match of Delhi, their batting began sluggishly and Pant was responsible for two run-outs. He then took out his anger on SRH bowling and thwacked them to all corners of the ground. The bowling failed to complement and SRH chased it in a canter.
The consistent failure for DD has been Glen Maxwell, he has to go. Colin Munro or Daniel Christian can take his place. Shahbaz Nadeem may also go out and Tewatia can play in his spot.
Playing XI –
Liam Plunkett, Amit Mishra, Jason Roy, Glenn Maxwell/Colin Munro/Daniel Christian, Shahbaz Nadeem/Rahul Tewatia, Trent Boult, Harshal Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Prithvi Shaw
