IPL 2019, DC vs RR Match Preview: Delhi aim for win in pursuit of top two finish, Rajasthan look for survival

New Delhi: Their play-off berth sealed, Delhi Capitals will aim for a big win against Rajasthan Royals to enhance their chances for a second-place finish when the two teams clash in their final IPL league match, on Saturday. The Capitals will be without current Purple Cap holder Kagiso Rabada, who missed the CSK game due to a back niggle, and has been asked to return back to South Africa by its cricket board as a precautionary measure. [caption id=“attachment_6537831” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Delhi Capitals players. Sportzpics[/caption] A big win on Saturday will not only will boost Delhi’s morale after the 80-run hammering at the hands of CSK but it could also propel the side to the second position in the eight-team standings. DC are currently sitting third with 16 points from 13 games, just behind Mumbai Indians (16 points) and table toppers CSK (18 points). A win against Rajasthan will enhance Delhi’s chances of featuring in Qualifier 1, giving them two shots at the 12 May final. In the absence of Rabada, Delhi’s bowling attack looked miserable, but it is the shoddy performance of the batting unit which would be a cause of concern for skipper Shreyas Iyer. Chasing CSK’s challenging 179 for four, Delhi were shot out for just 99 with only Iyer (44) making a significant contribution. The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Colin Ingram would like to forget the disastrous outing against CSK and come out afresh in Delhi’s last home game. Rajasthan, on the other hand, are mathematically still alive in the tournament with 11 points from 13 games. They need to win against DC and hope for favourable results from other remaining games to secure a play-off berth as the fourth team. But a win against DC might just not be enough for Rajasthan as it will take them to 13 points, after their last game against Royal Challengers Bangalore was washed away. With Steve Smith having departed home for World Cup preparations, Ajinkya Rahane will return to captaincy duties. Ashton Turner is expected to replace Smith in the playing eleven. The departure of Smith, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes has weakened Rajasthan’s batting, putting more responsibility on the shoulders of Rahane, Sanju Samson and Liam Livingstone but the team’s bowling unit would be pumped up after the leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal’s hat-trick in the rain-truncated match against ECB. In the last encounter between the two sides last month, it was Delhi Capitals who came out on top in Jaipur by six wickets in a high-scoring affair. Teams: Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer (C), Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Colin Ingram, Keemo Paul, Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Ankush Bains, Chris Morris, Sherfane Rutherford, Jalaj Saxena, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nathu Singh, Bandaru Ayyappa, Colin Munro, Manjot Kalra. Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Ashton Turner, Ish Sodhi, Oshane Thomas, Liam Livingstone, Sanju Samson, Shubham Ranjane, Stuart Binny, Shreyas Gopal, Sudhesan Midhun, Jaydev Unadkat, Prashant Chopra, Mahipal Lomror, Aryaman Birla, Riyan Parag, Dhawal Kulkarni, Krishnappa Gowtham, Varun Aaron, Shashank Singh, Manan Vohra, Rahul Tripathi. The match will start at 4 pm and will be shown live on TV by Star Sports Network. The match can also streamed live on Hotstar. For all the latest news, opinions and analysis from IPL 2019, click here For the full schedule, date, time and venue of all the matches of IPL 12, click here Check out the full points table for IPL 2019, including holders of Orange and Purple Caps