Mohammed Siraj won the match 22 for RCB

image: BCCI

In the second innings last over, Delhi Capitals need 14 runs in 6 balls. Mohammed Siraj bowled a wonderful over with yorkers and thigh-high full tosses and just gave 12 runs off the over. Rishab pant and Shimron Hetmeyer was unable to send the ball to the boundaries in this over.

Rishab's and Shimron's half-centuries were goes in vain, at a certain point in-game Royal Challengers Bangalore was in full control. After picking the Marcus Stoinis wicket, Shimron Hetmeyer and Rishab Pant closed the gap with amazing running between the wickets and Hetmeyer's boundaries.

Rishab played this innings with caution as the openers were gone early in the game and the score is low as compared to the RCB. Hetmeyer completed his half-century first who came late into the crease. In this innings, Rishab Pant didn't hit a six.

In the first innings, RCB scored 171 runs in 20 overs with a loss of 5 wickets. In the powerplay, RCB lost 2 wickets to the DC bowlers and scored just 36 runs. 

After a beautiful cameo from Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers played a one-man show in the game and scored 75 runs at the end of the innings. In the last over, he scored 22 runs which helped the team to win with a margin of a run. 

AB de Villiers and Rajat Patidar built a wonderful partnership of  54 runs in 38 balls in the middle overs.

Delhi Capitals had a tremble second innings, they lost two of their openers, Shikar Dhawan and Steven Smith in the powerplay and Prithvi Shaw in the 8th over. 

With the loss of wickets, the Delhi Capitals were unable to score and DC worm is below compared to RCB at that stage. 

Then, Marcus Stoinis and Rishab Pant accelerated the run rate in the middle overs. They both scored 45 runs in 34 balls. Then. Shimron Hetmeyer came into bat after  Marcus Stoinis got out.

Shimron Hetmeyer played the bad cop and Rishab Pant played the good cop. S Hetmery is hitting the boundaries and R Pant is giving strike back to him. 

Unfortunately, they both were unable to afloat the team in the last over. Their wonderful half-centuries went in vain. 

IPL 2021 DC vs SRH Match 20 Report

image: BCCI

 

After winning the toss, Delhi Capitals captain Rishab Pant chose to bat first in the last match in M.A Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

DC openers had a good start from the first over, Shikar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw made an 81 run partnership in 64 balls before Dhawan got out in Rashid Khan's 11th over. 

In the next over, Prithvi Shaw got out while running between wickets. Suchith, the bowler, took the ball and hit the stumps before the batsman came to the crease. The third umpire declared that as an OUT!.

Then with the help of Steve Smith, Rishab Pant made a 58 runs partnership in 42 balls. In the 19th over, Rishab Pant got out in Siddarth Kaul's over which was caught by the Suchith in the deep mid-wicket.

In the same over, Shimron Hetmeyer caught out by Kane Williamson in the long-off. SRH has able to give fewer runs in the death overs.

In the last over, DC scored 14 runs in the over which helped them to reach 159 runs in the 20 overs.

With decent runs to chase, SRH batsmen David Warner and Jhonny Bairstow opened the innings. In R Ashwin's 3rd over, Rabada was able to pass the ball to R Pant which helped to send David Warner back to the pavilion as he missed reaching the crease before hitting the wickets.

From then, Delhi Capitals able to pick the SRH batsmen wickets regularly. In the 6th over, SRH lost Jhonny Bairstow in Avesh Khan's bowling. SRH lost 2 of their openers wickets in the powerplay.

In the 12th over, Marcus Stoinis caught Virat Singh in Avesh Khan's bowling. Rishab Caught Kedhar Jhadav's wicket in Amit Mishra's 15th over.

In the 17th over, Axar Patel took two consecutive wickets of Abishek Sharma and Rashid Khan. Then Vijay Shankar got out in Avesh Khan's 19th over. In the last over, SRH needs 16 runs to win but they are managed to get only 15 runs, which led to the first super over in this season of IPL.

In the Super over, SRH batted first as per the rules and managed to score only 7 runs in Axar Patel's over. The Delhi Capitals were able to score the 8 runs in the over and won the match.

IPL 2021 DC vs RCB Match 22 Preview

image: BCCI

The 22nd match of the IPL is played between the Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore at Motera Stadium, Ahmedabad. 

Till now, both the teams have played five matches each, in which, Delhi and Bangalore lost a match each. Bengaluru lost to Chennai Super Kings and Delhi lost to Rajasthan Royals.

Delhi Capitals is in the 2nd position and Bangalore is in the 3rd position on the points table as they have less run rate compared to DC.

Delhi Captals

In their last match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the match went to super over after the SRH batsmen failed to score the extra run in the last lover. In the superover, the team managed to score the extra runs without losing wickets and won the match.

The openers and bowlers are performing well in this season, especially, Shikar Dhawan, he is the current orange cap holder  and the batsmen to hit most fours in this season of the IPL. 

Ravichandran Ashwin left the team's bio-bubble after his family contracted the virus. The management is not sure whether he returns the team before the completion of the tournament. 

According to reports, the player said, if his family is cured and fully restored to full health, he will join his team after a two week quarantine period.

This team is capable of giving a tough fight with Royal Challengers Bangalore and can even win the game with perfect game plan on the ground.

Delhi Capitals Squad

Probabale Playing 11

 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Lalit Yadav, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Amit Mishra

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Their winning streak is broke by Chennai Super Kings. It is easy to say its broken by Ravindra Jadeja with the batting and bowling. 

In that game, he scored 36 runs in the last over by hitting five 6's a 4 and a two runs in Harshal Patel's over. He is the highest wicket taker in the tournament till now with 15 wickets. Followed by the Delhi Capitals  bowler Avesh Khan with 11 wickets.

The RCB openers failed to score runs in the last match, if it repeats, the team would in trouble and they have the high chance of losing the match. 

RCB used to have jinxed bowling department in the previous years but from the last two years their bowling have got lot better and taking wickets and winning matches.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad

Probable Playing 11

 1 Virat Kohli (capt), 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Washington Sundar, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Dan Christian, 7 Kyle Jamieson, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Mohammed Siraj, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Navdeep Saini/Shahbaz Ahmed

IPL 2021 SRH vs DC Match 20 Preview

image:BCCI

The second match of the third doubleheader out of ten in this season of the IPL. The match will be played at M.A Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Sunrisers Hyderabad will be playing against the Delhi Capitals at 7:30 PM.

In the four matches SRH has played, the team have lost three of them and won a match against Punjab Kings by restricting them to just 121 runs in 20 overs. Finding place for both Kane Williamson and Kedhar Jadhav in the playing 11 is a good move to stop the team from sinking further. 

Delhi Capitals have won three out of four matches till now in this season, they have lost against Rajasthan Royals as they failed to defend 148 runs in 20 overs. They have upper hand in the batting department compared to sunrises compared to the four matches.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

In the first three matches, the team has lost the matches due to the weak batting lineup. Only the opening pair is able to do score some runs. If they got out early, the middle order is failing early and losing the matches. 

But this team has one of the strongest bowling line up in this season of the IPL compared to the other teams. As there is no support from the batting department, the bowling department can't alone win the matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The addition of the Kane Williamson and Kedhar Jadhav in the playing 11 turned the table for the SRH in the last match. They were able to restrict the Punjab Kings for just 120 runs with bowling and able to chase it with the help of Kane Williamson in the top-order.

T Natrajan was ruled out of the IPL due to an knee injury which happened during the Australia tour. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar walked out of the ground in the last match due to strain in the thigh.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Probable Playing 11

 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Kedar Jadhav, 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 Virat Singh, 7 Abhishek Sharma, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Sandeep Sharma, 10 Siddarth Kaul , 11 Khaleel Ahmed  

Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals won the match against the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in this season. They are playing really well with good team effort and planning compared to the Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

In the four matches they have played till now, they lost a match against the Rajasthan Royals as they scored less in the first innings and were unable to pick the wickets in the second innings. 

There is a huge chance that their All-rounder Axar Patel would join the team's playing 11, as he already started to join the team for practice session since his last negative covid test.

If he is in the playing 11, the would get more confident and stronger in both bowling and batting department. 

R Ashwin is bowling quite good enough but unable to pick wickets in the first half of the match. Avesh Khan and Kagiso Rabada are their present weapons against the SRH. If the DC bowlers able to pick wickets of SRH openers in the powerplay, they almost won the match.

Delhi Capitals Squad

Probable Playing 11 

 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Lalit Yadav, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada/Chris Woakes, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Avesh Khan

IPL 2021 MI vs DC Match 13 report

image: BCCI

Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to bat first in the 13th match of the Indian Premier League. At first, they trembled after losing Quintin de Kock 2(4) in the Marcus Stoinis 3rd over, then Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma started to play a good knock.

They both made a wonderful partnership of 58 runs in 29 balls and the run rate is hovering at 8 runs per over. Then this partnership is broken by the Avesh Khan at the end of the 7th over by taking Suryakumar Yadav's 24(15)wicket.

Immediately after that, Mumbai Indians lost Rohit Sharma 44(30) and Hardik Pandya 0(1) in the Amith Mishra's 9th over. From then, Mumbai Indians batsmen switched to survival mode, just to stay long in the crease.

In the 11th over, the survival plan didn't work well in Lalit Yadav's bowling, Kurnal Pandya, got out, followed by Keiron Pollard in Amit Mishra's 12th over. The run rate is dropped to 7 after losing wickets regularly.

Jayant Yadav and Ishan Kishan tried to revive the team's score but their partnership of 39 runs in 39 balls didn't have much impact on Delhi Capitals. 

In Amit Mishra 18th over, the ball hit the stumps after bouncing on Ishan Kishan's 26 (28) bat, this is the awkward dismissal in this IPL after Jhonny Bairstows hit-wicket. You can watch this wicket in the highlights below.

By the end of 20 overs, Mumbai Indians scored 137 after a loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs.

With a low score to chase, Delhi Capitals batsmen Prithvi Shaw and Shikar Shawan opened the second innings. Like Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals too had a starting problem, after losing Prithvi Shaw's wicket in the 2nd over to Jayant Yadav.

With help of Steven Smith, Shikar Dhawan, scored a wonderful partnership of 53 runs in 48 balls. At his point, Mumbai Indians started to tight the fielding and bowling. In the Pollard's 10th over, Steven Smith 33(29) got out after an LBW.

Then Lalit Yadav and Shikar Dhawan slowly started to score some runs in that tight bowling and fielding. In Rahul Chahar's 15th over, Shikar Dhawan 45(42) was caught by Kurnal Pandya at the long leg.

Then Rishab Pant 7(8) departed immediately after that, Shimron Hetmyer and Lalit Yadav scored all the runs and lead the team to victory. The last run is a reward from Keiron Pollard for his mistake.

With this victory, Delhi Capitals broke the Mumbai Indians winning streak in this season and took second place in the points table.

IPL 2021 DC vs MI Match 13 Preview

Image: BCCI

Till now both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals have played 3 matches till now in the tournament and won only two matches. Mumbai Indians won the two consecutive matches if they won this match, it would MI's hat-trick win in the league.

The match is going to start at 7:30 PM IST in M.A Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians are unable to score more runs in the death overs, since the beginning of the tournament. This is because the lower middle-order high strike-rate batsmen are underperforming and losing way more wickets in the death overs. 

This is the main reason behind losing the first match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Eventhough, they scored less in the next two matches, their bowling squad rescued the team from losing the match with tight bowling and fielding. 

If this continues in the tournament, Mumbai Indians might lose more matches this year than compared to last year. By playing carefully and scoring more runs in the death overs, the team might just afloat in this tournament till last.

Openers in the team need to make more runs in the powerplay to increase the run rate which decreases the pressure on the next batsman.

Coming to the bowling department, Mumbai Indians have the best players in the Indian Premier League but, they need to focus on taking wickets early on in the match to take control of the match.

Mumbai Indians Squad

Probable playing 11

1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Lalit Yadav, 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Avesh Khan

Delhi Capitals

In the last 3 matches they have played, Delhi Capitals lost to Rajasthan Royals till now and won against Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings. In these two matches they played well but, Rajasthan Royals, their batting lineup just collapsed.

Delhi capitals need to be careful with the Mumbai Indians bowling line up which is much stronger compared to the Punjab Kings.

Replacing Ajinkya Rahane with Steven Smith is a great idea but the team need to put him for good use with the bat. He can bat well but he needs some time to connect the ball. Once he settles, he is a more dangerous batsman.

Unless the team gets a good start with the bat in the powerplay, the team is in big trouble and might lose the match. They can do a fair bit with bowling but can't do wonders like Mumbai Indians did in those two matches.

In the last two games, the scores in Chennai are considerably more when compared to the previous matches and the team that bats first can score more and defend the other team to less score. The chasing team needs to do a good partnership in the powerplay and death to win this match. 

Delhi Capitals Squad

Probable Playing 11

1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Ishan Kishan, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Jayant Yadav, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

IPL 2021 PBKS vs DC Match 11 report

image: BCCI

After winning the toss, Delhi capitals elected to bowl first in the second doubleheader match of the day.

Punjab Kings had a wonderful start with KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal in the first innings of the match. They both scored a whopping  122 runs in 77 balls, which is the highest opening partnership in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League till now.

Mayank Agarwal scored his 8th IPL fifty in just 25 balls with seven 4's and two 6's, which really helped the team to cross 50 runs in just 31 balls. By the end of the powerplay, PBKS scored 59 runs without losing a wicket.

KL Rahul too scored a wonderful 50 in just 45 balls with six 4's and a 6 on his birthday. With regular running between the wickets and regular boundaries, the duo made a feast for the eyes until the partnership is broken.

In Meriwala's 13th over, Mayank Agarwal 69 (36) departed after giving a catch to Shikar Dhawan. A first breakthrough for the Delhi Capitals. Their happiness didn't last long as the universal boss entered.

In Marcus Stoinis's 15th over, KL Rahul 61(51) got out after giving a catch to Rabada in the deep mid-wicket. Immediately in the next over of Chris Woakes, Chris Gayle 11 (9) caught in the extra cover a substitute player RV Patel.

Then Nicholas Pooran 9(8) just like in the other matches he got out quickly. Deepak Hooda 22 (13) and Sharukh Khan 15 (5) played really well in the last few overs. By the end of the innings, Punjab Kings scored 195 runs with a loss of four wickets in 20 overs.

Delhi Capitals

With a big score to chase, Delhi Capitals openers Shikar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw opened the innings with a good start.

Delhi Capitals crossed the first 50 runs in just 29 balls, which is 2 balls less compared to Punjab Kings. In the 6th over, Delhi Capitals lost its first wicket of Prithvi Shaw32 (17) in the Arshdeep Singh's over caught by Chris Gayle at square leg.

Then Steven Smith 9 (12) got out a 48 run partnership with Shikar Dhawan in  Meredith's 9th over which is caught by Richardson at third man.

After that, Rishab Pant and Shikar Dhawan made another 45 run partnership in 25 balls which in turn helped to decrease the required run rate. 

Especially in Meridith's 14th overs, Shikar Dhawan smashed 3 consecutive 4's and the next ball is wide and KL Rahul failed to stop the ball, which went to the boundary. This is the most expensive over bowled by the Punjab Kings to Delhi Capitals.

In the 15th over, Richardson got Shikar Dhawan 92(49), the ball hit the middle stumps. Shikar Missed his hundred in the match. Then Stoinis and Pant played for a while and smashed a few boundaries.

Then in the 18th over, Deepak Hooda caught Rishab Pant 15(16) in Richardson's over, the catch is comical in its own way, as he succeeded in the 4th attempt. You will able to watch it in the highlights below.

Then Marcus Stoinis and Lalit Yadav scored the remaining runs with 10 balls left. Mohammed Shami failed to take wickets in the middle overs as the pressure got to him and gave more runs.

Overall, a wonderful game with full-on entertainment and a festival of boundaries in the 11th match and the second match of the first doubleheader. 

Watch the highlights here

IPL 2021 DC vs PBKS Match 11 Preview

image: BCCI

This is the second match of today's doubleheader where Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings will be playing each other in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

In the previous match, Punjab Kings lost to the Chennai Super Kings as their batsmen failed to face the CSK bowler. In the first match against the Rajasthan Royals, they successfully defended the total they scored in the last over.

Delhi Capitals won their first match against the Chennai Super Kings with their amazing all-around performance in the game. But in the second game, they lost to Rajasthan Royals after poor top-order performance and unavailability of their star bowlers.

Delhi Capitals

First, let's talk about the top-order, Prithvi Shaw and Shikar Dhawan were the important batsmen for their team score. If they failed to do so, Rishab Pant is their next best hope. 

Anjikya Rahane and Shimron Hetmeyer aren't guaranteed players who can score runs, depending upon the situation they both acts.

Coming to Marcus Stoinis, he needs to come into the crease a couple of overs early before the death overs, then only he can do a good score.

Coming to the bowling, Anrich Nortje might join the team today as per the espncricinfo.com reports. If he is back into the attack, Delhi Capital's bowling will be as strong as a wall. They have got good spinners and death over bowlers to stop the flow of runs.

Delhi Capitals Squad

Probable Playing 11

 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Lalit Yadav, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Anrich Nortje

Punjab Kings

In the match against the Chennai Super Kings, the Punjab Kings made a huge mess in the powerplay by losing wickets way too early. This has built a lot of pressure to score runs on the batsmen who came into the crease later on. 

With that pressure, they lost the wickets quickly and unable to score any runs in the match. Sharukh Khan has done a good job for the Punjab Kings in the middle overs. If the team can find a place for him up in the batting lineup, he can do wonders in the matches with the bat.

In today's match, PBKS top-order batsmen need to be extra careful and score few extra runs before Kagiso Rabada comes to the bowling, as he can break the partnership in his overs.

PBKS spinners need to spin more in this match as the pitch will be helping them, if not R Ashwin uses it against them in the middle overs.

Punjab Kings Squad

Probable Playing 11

1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Jhye Richardson, 8 M Ashwin, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Riley Meredith, 11 Arshdeep Singh

IPL 2021 RR vs DC Match 7 report

 

image: BCCI

After winning the toss, Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson opted to bowl first in the 7th match of the IPL.

Delhi Capitals

Prithvi Shaw and Shikar Dhawan opened for the Delhi Capitals as usual but, the star of the first match Prithi Shaw2 (5) got out early in the game in J Undadkat's over. As I said earlier in the preview, Prithvi Shaw will not play good for two consecutive innings.

In the 4th over, the second of Unadkat's he picked Shikar Dhawan 9(11) and A Rahane 8(8) in his next over. By this point, Delhi capitals lost their top order in the powerplay to Jaydev Unadkat. He really proved his worth and showed his comeback to the world.

In the 7th over, Mustafizur Rahman took the Marcus Stoinis wicket 0(5), from then Rishab Pant and the new debutant Latith Yadav made a good partnership of 51 runs in 36 balls. In the 13th over, R Pant got runout by trying to take a single when the ball is near the bowler Rayan Parag..

Then Tom Curran and Chris Woakes tried to revive the match but the Rajasthan Royals didn't allow them to score runs in the death overs. By the end of the innings, Delhi Capitals has scored 148/9 without any sixes in the Innings. 

Chetan Saakariya who did pick wickets in the first match didn't pick any wickets in this match. Jaydev Unadkat's good bowling in the powerplay has really worked well for the Rajasthan Royals.

Rajasthan Royals

With a 149 to chase in the second Innings, Jos Buttler and Manan Vohara opened the second innings. After hitting two consecutive fours in the Chris Woakes 3rd over, Manan Vohra 9(11) got out by giving a catch to K Rabada in the mid-on.

In the same over, Jos Buttler 2(7) gave a catch to R Pant behind the wickets after the ball edged the bat. Then came Sanju Samson 4(3), the hero of the last match also got out early in Rabada's 4th over by giving a catch to Shikar Dhawan in the slip.

From then on, Shivam Dube 2(7) and Riyan Parag 2(5) got out in the Avesh Khan's bowling. He is the guy who picked the MS Dhoni wicket in the first match against CSK.

Then David Miller and Rahul Tewatia build an exceptional partnership when the top and middle order is failed to score the runs for the team. They have both made 48 runs in 34 balls. 

In Rabada's 15th over, this partnership is broke after Rahul Tewatia 19 (17) was caught by Lilith Yadav,, Eventhough, Tewatia struggled a bit in the start, by the end he did really well in the match.

After two consecutive sixes of the match, David Miller 62(43) got out in Rabada's 16th over. His excellent performance in the middle overs really boosts the morale of the batsmen to score runs in the game.

Then Jaydev Unadkat and Chriss Morris won the game for the Rajasthan Royals by hitting wonderful sixes by the end of the game. Their partnership of 46 runs in 26 balls is impressive.

In the end, I thought, what if Sanju Samson would have taken that single against the Punjab Kings in the previous match?

Rajasthan Royals won the match with 3 wickets in hand and 2 balls remaining. Watch the match highlights here

IPL 2021 RR vs DC Match 7 Live Blog

Rajasthan Royals Squad:

Sanju Samson (C), Andrew Tye, Anuj Rawat, Ben Stokes, David Miller, Jaydev Unadkat, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Kartik Tyagi, Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Christopher Morris, Shivam Dube, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Liam Livingstone, K.C Cariappa, Akash Singh, Kuldip Yadav

Probable Playing 11:  1 Jos Buttler, 2 Manan Vohra, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Rahul Tewatia, 9 Shreyas Gopal, 10 Chetan Sakariya, 11 Andrew Tye/Mustafizur Rahman

Delhi Capitals Squad: 

Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (C & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Chris Woakes, Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddharth, Tom Curran, Steven Smith, Sam Billings

Probable Playing 11: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Chris Woakes, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Avesh Khan

IPL 2021 RR vs DC Match 7 Preview

image: BCCI

The 7th match of 2021 IPL is going to begin at 7:30 PM in the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Both the teams have already played a match on this pitch. 

Rajasthan Royals lost to Punjab Kings in the first match with 4 runs short. As the team new captain, Sanju Samson hit the last ball a few yards inside the boundary.

Coming to the Delhi Capitals, the team has won the first match against the Chennai Super Kings after chasing a total of 188 in 18.4 overs.

Both the teams are in the quest to win that two points in the early on the league stage to stay top by the end of the league stage.

Rajasthan Royals 

After losing the first match closely, Rajasthan had another blow Ben Stokes is ruled out of the Indian Premier League due to a finger injury in the first match.

The team already lost their star bowler, who also showed us his power with the bat in the previous season of the IPL in Dubai Jofra Archer.

While cleaning his fish tank at home, Jofra Archer injured his hand which lead to surgery. Eventhough, he was cleared for the small training session by ECB, it hard to say when he will be joining the Rajasthan Royals for the ongoing IPL series.

The team will be in trouble if they didn't improve the bowling in the middle and death overs. Except for Sanju Samson, the top and middle-order failed to share the load of scoring runs. If this continues, they will be in deep trouble with the Delhi Capitals.

RR's star new bowler Mustafizur Rahman seems to be expensive in death and middle overs of the last match. He gave 45 runs in 4 overs without taking any wickets with an economy of 11.25 and followed by the team's spinner at 13.0.

Here is the squad of Rajasthan Royals 

Probable Playing 11

 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Manan Vohra, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Rahul Tewatia, 9 Shreyas Gopal, 10 Chetan Sakariya, 11 Andrew Tye/Mustafizur Rahman

Delhi Capitals

In the first match against the Chennai Super Kings, the team started the IPL with a good victory. Delhi Capitals won by 7 wickets in hand. As the majority of the score is scored by the openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikar Dhawan.

If they both failed to repeat the Innings like the first match, the responsibility will fall on the middle-order batsmen. Let's hope they are good and strong to face the young spinner Chetan Sakariya.

The other good thing in the Delhi Capitals bag is Chris Woakes and Avesh Khan. They both picked two wickets in the first match. Especially, Avesh Khan has picked the Dhoni's Wicket. A wicket he is going to remember his life.

Eventhough, R Ashwin picked a wicket, his economy rate is high as Mooen Ali smashed his balls to boundaries.

The South African Player, Kagiso Rabada might join the team after his completion of quarentine as he came from overseas after playing ODI matches with Pakistan. 

Here is the Squad of the Delhi Capitals

Probable Playing 11

1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Chris Woakes, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Avesh Khan

Suresh Raina's come back in IPL 2021

image: BCCI

 

After a year gap, we all saw Suresh Raina bat for the Chennai Super Kings in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. He Scored an amazing 54 runs in 36 balls, after losing quick wickets.

With the help of Moeen Ali and Amabati Rayudu, Suresh Raina built a fabulous partnership when the team need the most. 

Here is his knock against Delhi Capitals in match 2

Match Report for CSK vs Delhi Match-2

image: BCCI

After winning the toss, Delhi Captains new rookie captain Rishabh Pant opted to bowl first due to the due factor on the ground. 

Chennai Super Kings lost their first wicket of Faf du Plessis 0(3) in the 2nd over to Avesh Khan. Then Immediately, Ruturaj Gaikwad 5(8) gave a catch to Shikar Dhawan in the Chris Woakes over. 

After these two back to back wickets, Moeen Ali and Suresh Raina built a 53 run partnership in 38 balls with regular boundaries. After a long time, it's good to see Suresh Raina hitting sixes in the stadium. He missed the last season of IPL due to personal reasons.

This partnership is broke by the veteran Indian spinner R Ashwin in the 9th over. Moeen Ali 36(24) gave a catch to Shikar Dhawan at the third man, trying to sweep the ball offside, after hitting two consecutive sixes.

Then Ambati Rayudu joins the party with Suresh Raina, they both too made a 63 runs partnership in 33 balls. When they are batting, boundaries rained in the Wankhede Stadium. This rain didn't last too long. 

At the end of the 14th over, Ambati Rayudu 23(16) gave a catch to Shikar Dhawan in Tom Curran's over. In the Anvesh Khan's over, due to a miscommunication and bowlers fault, Suresh Raina 54(36) got runout.

Immediately after that, the captain of CSK M S Dhoni got out in the Anvesh Khan's over. After seeing MS Dhoni got out, my heart just skipped a beat. That was his 4th duck out in the Indian Premier League.

Then Curran brothers fought each other but, the younger brother Sam Curran won it by hitting his brother over to the boundaries with the help of R Jadeja.

At the end of the first Innings, CSK made 188 runs in 20 overs by losing 7 wickets.

Second Innings

Prithvi Shaw and Shikar Dhawan opened the innings for the Delhi Capitals and made a huge partnership of 138 runs in 88 balls. The CSK fielders dropped the Prithvi Shaws's catch twice in the match.

They both punished the CSK bowlers with regular boundaries, they make sure they had at least two boundaries in an over, for 10 overs. They maintained 10 runs in an over till they are back to the pavilion.

By the time Dwayne Bravo took the wicket of Prithvi Shaw 72(38), it's too late to stop Delhi from capitals scoring runs. After some time, Shikar 85 (54) gave his wicket to S Thakur.

Pant, Marcus Stoinis and Shimron Hetmyer completed the match by scoring the few runs left by the openers. At last, the rookie captain won the match for his team by hitting a four.

Here are the Match Highlights

Few overseas players to miss their first match

image: ICC

A few of the South African players to miss their first match. As they have just arrived in Indian after completing the first two ODI matches against Pakistan. According to the BCCI guidelines, the players have to be quarantined for a certain period of time.

If the quarantine period is two weeks, the players are going to miss at least three to four matches in this period. Most of these players are very important for the teams to win matches on the league stage.

I think the players will be under quarantine just for a week, to see whether they have developed symptoms and test regularly for the virus.

The list of players includes 

• Quinton de Kock, wicketkeeper and the opener of Mumbai Indians, 
• Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, wicket-taking bowlers from Delhi Capitals, 
• David Miller, a middle-order batsman from Rajasthan Royals, 
• Lungi Ngidi, pacer from Chennai Super Kings.

With this list, Delhi Capitals have to lose the most. As the team already missing their star captain Shreyas Iyer due to shoulder injury, Axar Patel Tested Positive for the coronavirus and the two most important bowlers will be missing their first match.

Wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock can be easily replaceable by Ishan Kishan. But you can't replace the reliable opener batsman Quinton de Kock. He has played a few wonderful innings in that position.

I think Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan will open the first match followed by Chris Lynn/ Anmolpreet Singh.

For Rajasthan Royals, David Miller is an option for the squad but not the only choice for the top-middle-order. For Chennai Super Kings, Lungi Ngidi is also an option as they use their new recruits to fill the seamer position in the team.

IPL 2021 CSK vs DC Match 2

The second match of the Indian Premier League 2021 is between the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals on the 10th of April.

Chennai Super Kings led by the legendary, cool captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The team won three times in the IPL. But, last year the team didn't even qualified for the playoffs.

Delhi capitals, led by the rookie captain Rishab Pant by replacing Shreyas Iyer. As Shreyas Iyer injured his shoulder during an ODI match, he was ruled out for the entire season.

This team went to finals last year, and knock out stage the year before that. As the team is performing well, for the last two years, this year they might really have the chance to lift the cup.

The match starts at 7:30 PM IST in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The match will be played behind a closed door without spectators due to coronavirus.

Chennai Super Kings

The team is lead by MS Dhoni, a former captain of the Indian cricket team. With his experience, he led the team as a three-time champion in IPL. But, last year, the team didn't even make it to the knock-outs.

As CSK really struggled with their batting lineup and didn't have good middle-order batsmen. Raina, Harbajan Singh leaving the tournament due to personal reasons made a huge impact on the team.

The new includes such as Cheteshwar Pujara, K Gowtham, Moeen Ali might add strength to the batting and bowling line up. Moreover, Raina is back on the team. 

Here is the squad of Chennai super kings

Probable playing 11 *: This will be updated soon 

Team News

• Lungi Ngidi will not be playing the first match due to mandatory quarantine.
• Josh Hazelwood opted out of IPL 2021 due to personal reasons. 

Delhi Capitals

With a new captain and new purchases, the team is on fire this year. As they made almost to the finals last year, this year Delhi Capitals are already in the limelight. In 2019, the team made it to knockouts and lost to Chennai super kings in Vishakapatnam. They made it to the finals in the previous season and lost to Mumbai Indians. 

The change in captaincy and losing two important players for the first match might put DC in a tough place. They might struggle a bit from the start. If they opt to bat first, and if Shikar gave a good start and took the total score to 180 -190, the team might have an edge against CSK.

Here is the squad of Delhi Capitals

Probable Playing 11 *: Shikar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishab Pant (c &wk), Shemron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel/ Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, K Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma/ Umesh Yadav. 

Team News:

• Shreyas Iyer to miss the entire season due to a shoulder injury.
• Rishab Pant to take his place as Captain.
• Axar Patel has tested positive for coronavirus, he might not play the first match.
• Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje will no the playing the first match due to mandatory quarantine.

Toss: This will be updated soon

Pitch Report: This Will be updated soon

Weather: This will be updated soon

For detailed analysis visit https://digest.cricn.co.in.

*  Probable playing 11 is just a guess by my side after the careful analysis of the teams. These are not 100% garunteed.

You can join us for the live blog down below.

Axar Patel tests positive for coronavirus

image: ESPNcricinfo

Axar Patel, a 27-year-old Delhi capitals all-rounder in the upcoming 14th edition of the Indian Premier League tests positive for the coronavirus today.

On his arrival, the player submitted a negative test report before joining the team in Mumbai for practice sessions. But on the second test after arrival, he tested positive for the virus. The player is in a secure bio-bubble during his sessions over time.

The player is currently in isolation according to the BCCI procedure and the players who are in contact with him will be tested again for the virus. 

The team has already missed their captain due to a shoulder injury in an ODI match against England and they also miss their star all-rounder who performed well in the previous season.

Currently, the team is practising in Barbourne Stadium, Mumbai. The stadium officials have barred access to outsiders in the areas where the team is accessing.

Axar Patel is the second player after Kolkata Knight Riders player Nitish Rana contracted the virus in Mumbai. Rana went into twelve days of extended quarantine and joined the team later after testing negitive.

The Delhi Capitals team is going to miss two important players ahead of the IPL. These players helped the team to win crucial matches in the last two year and took the teams to qualifiers and finals. The team might struggle to fill the gap with other players.

Here is the official announcement from Delhi Capitals

🚨 UPDATE 🚨

Delhi Capitals all-rounder #AxarPatel has tested positive for COVID-19. He had checked into the team hotel in Mumbai on Mar 28, 2021, with a negative report. His report from the second COVID test, came positive. pic.twitter.com/CjRKlfzvWR

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 3, 2021

Delhi Capitals Training Session

 Delhi Capitals just posted the pictures of their training session for the upcoming 14th edition of the Indian Premier League. Recently, the team announced 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, Rishab Pant, as the team's captain after ruling out Shreyas Iyer for a shoulder injury.

The skipper will undergo surgery on the 9th of April, just a day ahead of the teams first match. He congratulated Rishab Pant and welcomed the team management decision.

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Here is the video of the first-day training session of the Delhi Capitals for the upcoming IPL.

 

Delhi Capitals announce their next captain for 2021 IPL

image: Delhi Capitals

Rishab Pant will replace Shreyas Iyer as the Delhi Capitals Team captain in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League which begins on the 9th of April.

Rishab pant has captained the Delhi state team and Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament in 2017. As the debut IPL captain Pant's, the first game is against Chennai Super King on the 10th of April in Mumbai.

The team announced on their website, with a note from DC chairman and co-owner saying that under Shreyas Iyer captaincy the team reached newer heights and the team going to miss him immensely.

This is a tremendous opportunity for young Rishabh, who is coming off successful stints against Australia and England which will no doubt give him the confidence needed to take on a new role that comes with a lot more responsibility, said DC coach Ricky Pointing.

As I said earlier, the team management might choose the star of the team Rishab Pant over the seniority and foreign players in my previous blog post.

In my opinion, This new post will create immense pressure on the 23-year-old wicketkeeper and batsman which might affect his own performance and the team results.

Shreyas Iyer will be undergoing shoulder surgery on the 9th of April and will need at least 5 months of rest to recover from it.

"Delhi is where I grew up, and where my IPL journey began six years ago. To lead this team one day is a dream I've always harboured. And today, as that dream comes true, I feel humbled. I am truly grateful, especially to our team owners, who considered me capable enough for this role.

"With an amazing coaching staff, and a plethora of accomplished seniors around me, I can't wait to give my absolute best for Delhi Capitals," Rishabh Pant said after being named the skipper.

"He has all my good wishes to make amazing things happen with our absolutely incredible team. I’m going to miss the team tremendously, and will be cheering for them throughout," Iyer said.

From Cricn.co.in we wish Shreyas Iyer a speedy recovery and hearty congratulations and best of luck to the debut captain of Rishab Pant for the upcoming IPL.

🚨 ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

Rishabh Pant will be our Captain for #IPL2021 ✨@ShreyasIyer15 has been ruled out of the upcoming season following his injury in the #INDvENG series and @RishabhPant17 will lead the team in his absence 🧢#YehHaiNayiDilli

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 30, 2021

Can Ajinkya Rahane be the next captain of Delhi Capitals?

image: DNA India

 Ajinkya Rahane, a 32-year-old Mumbai batsman with decent experience in captaincy can be the next best captain for Delhi Capitals for the upcoming Indian Premier League season.

 As the current captain, Shreyas Iyer is ruled out of the entire season due to his shoulder injury in the 1st ODI played against England in Pune.

Steve Smith can be the next good option for the captain of  Delhi Capitals, but I think the management might prefer an Indian player over an overseas player for the job. 

The management might consider Ravi Chandran Ashwin, Shikar Dhawan and Rishab Pant as their next options for the post.

R Ashwin has the experience and the talent to lead the team, he led the Punjab team for the year 2018 and 2019. In the last season, during an important match when Shreyas Iyer is injured, the captaincy weight is kept on Shikar Dhawan during death overs. He kept the team afloat till the last ball and took it to shore with a victory.

The star of the team is Rishab Pant and all eyes on him and his performance. If he was chosen, his performance might affect the matches and the team.

According to the recent poll conducted by the Times of India, 3916 votes are polled in favour of Ajinkya Rahane as the DC captain. The second most votes are polled in favour of Steve Smith at 2151. R Ashwin got 1893 votes and the Rishab Pant got 1073 votes and followed by Dhawan and Shaw at 686 and 358 votes.

In my opinion, I would choose Ajinkya Rahane, if I want an Indian player to lead the team. If not I would go for Steve Smith as he brings more energy and experience to the table compare to Ajinkya Rahane.

Shreyas Iyer to Miss entire IPL 2021

Image: ICC

Delhi Capitals captain, Shreyas Iyer to miss the entire 14th edition of the Indian Premier League due to a shoulder injury in the 1st One Day International match against England on March 23rd.

The skipper tried to catch the ball during the 8th over of the match and fell on the left shoulder. Immidealty, he was rushed out of the field by his fellow teammates.

The scan of his shoulder shown a subluxation (partially dislocated) in his shoulder and is likely to undergo major surgery in the month of April. 

According to the reports, Shreyas might take 4-5 months of leave from the sport to heal his injury. Hopefully, he might be back by the T-Twenty world championship.

Meanwhile, the Delhi capitals need to find a new captain for their team and also a new batsman at the middle order. The question is who is going to take his position in the team and take the team towards the finals of IPL 14th edition.

Delhi Capitals extraordinarily well compared to other big teams in the season under Shreyas captaincy. This news is a big blow for the team who are looking to actually grab the cup this year.