DC vs RCB will be the last league match for both the sides as both look to assure a playoff spot for themselves before the league stages finish on Tuesday. Both Delhi and Bangalore have won seven matches each after playing 13 games as they sit with 14 points. However, Bangalore sit above Delhi in the second position owing to their better net run rate.
Bangalore have won 14 of their 24 face-offs with Delhi since the beginning of the Indian T20 League with Delhi winning nine of them. However, a resurgent Delhi side has been better in the last two years winning all the three encounters since 2019. Here we take a look at how DC vs RCB can shape up.
KEY BATTLE
AB de Villiers vs Shikhar Dhawan
AB de Villiers’ contribution to Bangalore’s campaign this season has been unquestionable. The South African has been mostly consistent, playing significant knocks to take the team out of difficult situations time and again. The fact that his last three scores of 15, 39 and 2 have seen Bangalore lose all those matches rightly reflects the over-reliance of Virat Kohli on his teammate. However, with a must-win game at hand, De Villiers will be required to step up to the occasion as he has done on numerous occasions previously.
Though Shikhar Dhawan made a slow start to the Indian T20 League this season, he has pulled himself up magnificently to contend for the orange cap. Like AB de Villiers, Dhawan’s last three scores read 0, 0, and 6 and Delhi have lost all the three matches.
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Virat Kohli
After De Villiers, Virat Kohli remains the most important cog in Bangalore’s wheel. And the skipper has one big thing going his way this season that De Villiers hasn’t. Unlike his South African mate, Kohli has been consistent with his singles and doubles when boundaries are not coming. He has scored 431 with an average of 47.88 with three fifties to his name.
Marcus Stoinis
With the top order of Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer all firing blank at times, Delhi have seen their star all-rounder Marcus Stoinis taking the onus upon himself often. And the Australian will be required to be at his hard-hitting best on Monday as well. He has already averaged 21.72 in 13 matches.
Shreyas Iyer
Despite struggling with injuries this season at the Indian T20 League, Delhi skipper Shreyas Iyer has shown responsibility with the bat coming at crunch positions and taking the match out of danger at times. He has tallied 414 runs in 13 games with an average of 34.50.
PREDICTED XI
Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Harshal Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Dubey, Kagiso Rabada
Bangalore: Josh Philippe, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers (WK), Washington Sundar, Gurkeerat Singh, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini
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