Top-two finish at stake as RCB, DC battle each other

Delhi Capitals (DC) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are expected to go all out as they face each other on Monday. It will be a virtual quarterfinal, as both DC and RCB have lost four and three games on the trot respectively. Also, at stake is a top-two finish which provides a couple of attempts to make it to the final. The loser of Monday’s game could still end up making the playoffs but it will be then at the mercy of other teams. DC, after a brilliant start in IPL 2020, seem to have lost mo – mentum.

 Their batsmen have started failing regularly and the bowling unit no longer looks as potent as it was in the initial part of the tournament. Problems started with D C unable to find a stable combination at the openers’ slot. Both Prithvi Shaw and Ajikya Rahane have been paired up with Shikhar Dhawan but either of them has not provided the muchneeded consistency. In fact, Dhawan, who was flying high with back-to-back hundreds, has managed 0, 0, 6 in the last three games.

 Delhi Capitals relies heavily on the big-hitting from Rishabh Pant in the middleorder but with 274 runs at a strike-rate of 112.29, he is yet to find his touch. After a nine-wicket hammering against Mumbai Indians on Saturday, SC captain Shreyas Iyer emphasised on the need for a fearless approach. “We’ll have to think about it (changes to the line-up) and be fearless in our approach. We’ll keep things simple and will not try to think much , ” h e said. R C B too have of late faced a series of defeats, most recently against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday. 

The three losses on the trot have again reignited the debate on the team’s dependency on Virat Kohli and A.B. de Villiers. Both Kohli and de Villiers didn’t fire in the last two games, resulting in heavy defeats. Josh Phillipe has shown promise at the top of the order after replacing Aaron Finch but needs to convert starts into substantial outings