Time absolutely flew by since our scintillating win against the Super Kings of Chennai in our season opener. Five days, some team celebrations, lots of training, photoshoots and one Vaathi Coming music video later, we’re going into our second IPL 2021 encounter, against the Royals of Rajasthan.
The War of the Batsmen
In the last game for both teams, the batsmen have been in top-notch form. Our batting duo of Shikhar and Prithvi were 'Shaw'ing off their batting skills and hit the ball to the boundary ropes or over it a total of 24 times. An opening stand of 138 all but sealed the deal in a relatively high chase of 189.
The Royals may have lost their first game, but new captain Sanju Samson almost took them home with a brutal century in a mammoth chase of 222. He had the Punjab Kings worried till the very end, scoring 119 runs and becoming the first captain to score a century on VIVO IPL captaincy debut.
Rookie Captains with Warrior Intent
Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson are without a shadow of doubt two of the most talented wicket-keeper batsmen in the country, and they’ve both proven their mettle with the bat and behind the stumps time and again. However, both of them are leading a franchise for the first time, and how they do in that department will also have a huge bearing on the game.
It’s no secret they’ve got the backing of their respective managements, squads, and fans! This battle between two young superstars will make for great showing.
Stat Attack
There is nothing to separate RR and DC in terms of their head-to-head record overall as both teams have won 11 matches apiece. However, in the last five encounters, the traffic has all been one way as DC have dominated in the recent past to maintain a 100% record against RR.
Dhawan has begun 2021 right where he left off in 2020, scoring a brilliant 85 against CSK. Since 2018, Gabbar’s consistency has sky-rocketed, scoring at an average of 40.02 as compared to 32.67 earlier, and striking at over 140 as compared to 121.87 prior to 2018, all with a smile on his face at all times. He has reinvented himself at Delhi Capitals, and he’s now an absolute run-scoring phenom.
Chris Woakes, who has found himself to be the talk of the internet for his rendition of the Vaathi Coming dance, will look to keep his spirits and his good form going after a good double-wicket season opener. He has a knack for picking up quality and important wickets in his career, given the fact that 37% of his wickets are batsmen from the top order (1-3) and 40.7% from the middle order (4 - 7).
Some of our superstars are also approaching significant milestones in their careers. Ashwin is just 1 wicket away from a whopping 250 T20 wickets, while Jinks finds himself 67 runs away from becoming the 11th batsman in IPL history to hit the 4000-run mark. Kagiso Rabada was up and running after his quarantine, and it remains to be seen if he will take part in the RR fixture. The South African fast bowler is 3 scalps away from 150 T20 wickets.
Twitter Chatter
Get ready for RR tomorrow
— BODDUPALLI MAHESH (@iammahimahesho7) April 14, 2021
Readier than ever before 😉
Ashwin VS Buttler
— Anmol Kakkar (@Anmolkakkar27) April 14, 2021
Get that Popcorn ready 🍿
DC Admin vs RR Admin
— Kartik O 🏏⚽🔗 (@KOCricket528) April 14, 2021
The real battle is on field, but we're sure we'll both bring our best (humour) game on the night 😉
Key Battles
Chris Woakes vs Sanju Samson
Samson is fresh from a blitz of a hundred, and Chris Woakes has his confidence up from his 2/18 in the previous encounter. It will be imperative to get the RR captain out early, and Woakes will be paramount for us in that endeavour.
Prithvi Shaw vs Chetan Sakariya
Two youngsters, an aggressive opening batsman and a consistent opening bowler. Chetan is coming off a 3-fer on IPL debut while Prithvi Shaw just decimated the Super Kings attack in game one. Can Shaw get on top of Chetan at the start?
Ravichandran Ashwin vs Jos Buttler
A much talked about battle between two high-profile cricketers, this one has stolen headlines time and again since the Mankad. In our first encounter in 2020 too, Ashwin managed to get rid of Buttler cheaply and it went a long way in helping us win the game. Can he do it again? This one will be an interesting one to watch for fans and neutrals alike.
So, will the DC streak of five wins in a row against RR hit half a dozen, or do the Royals have a trick or two up their sleeve to break the jinx? Only one way to find out.
Time absolutely flew by since our scintillating win against the Super Kings of Chennai in our season opener. Five days, some team celebrations, lots of training, photoshoots and one Vaathi Coming music video later, we’re going into our second IPL 2021 encounter, against the Royals of Rajasthan.
The War of the Batsmen
In the last game for both teams, the batsmen have been in top-notch form. Our batting duo of Shikhar and Prithvi were 'Shaw'ing off their batting skills and hit the ball to the boundary ropes or over it a total of 24 times. An opening stand of 138 all but sealed the deal in a relatively high chase of 189.
The Royals may have lost their first game, but new captain Sanju Samson almost took them home with a brutal century in a mammoth chase of 222. He had the Punjab Kings worried till the very end, scoring 119 runs and becoming the first captain to score a century on VIVO IPL captaincy debut.
Rookie Captains with Warrior Intent
Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson are without a shadow of doubt two of the most talented wicket-keeper batsmen in the country, and they’ve both proven their mettle with the bat and behind the stumps time and again. However, both of them are leading a franchise for the first time, and how they do in that department will also have a huge bearing on the game.
It’s no secret they’ve got the backing of their respective managements, squads, and fans! This battle between two young superstars will make for great showing.
Stat Attack
There is nothing to separate RR and DC in terms of their head-to-head record overall as both teams have won 11 matches apiece. However, in the last five encounters, the traffic has all been one way as DC have dominated in the recent past to maintain a 100% record against RR.
Dhawan has begun 2021 right where he left off in 2020, scoring a brilliant 85 against CSK. Since 2018, Gabbar’s consistency has sky-rocketed, scoring at an average of 40.02 as compared to 32.67 earlier, and striking at over 140 as compared to 121.87 prior to 2018, all with a smile on his face at all times. He has reinvented himself at Delhi Capitals, and he’s now an absolute run-scoring phenom.
Chris Woakes, who has found himself to be the talk of the internet for his rendition of the Vaathi Coming dance, will look to keep his spirits and his good form going after a good double-wicket season opener. He has a knack for picking up quality and important wickets in his career, given the fact that 37% of his wickets are batsmen from the top order (1-3) and 40.7% from the middle order (4 - 7).
Some of our superstars are also approaching significant milestones in their careers. Ashwin is just 1 wicket away from a whopping 250 T20 wickets, while Jinks finds himself 67 runs away from becoming the 11th batsman in IPL history to hit the 4000-run mark. Kagiso Rabada was up and running after his quarantine, and it remains to be seen if he will take part in the RR fixture. The South African fast bowler is 3 scalps away from 150 T20 wickets.
Twitter Chatter
Get ready for RR tomorrow
— BODDUPALLI MAHESH (@iammahimahesho7) April 14, 2021
Readier than ever before 😉
Ashwin VS Buttler
— Anmol Kakkar (@Anmolkakkar27) April 14, 2021
Get that Popcorn ready 🍿
DC Admin vs RR Admin
— Kartik O 🏏⚽🔗 (@KOCricket528) April 14, 2021
The real battle is on field, but we're sure we'll both bring our best (humour) game on the night 😉
Key Battles
Chris Woakes vs Sanju Samson
Samson is fresh from a blitz of a hundred, and Chris Woakes has his confidence up from his 2/18 in the previous encounter. It will be imperative to get the RR captain out early, and Woakes will be paramount for us in that endeavour.
Prithvi Shaw vs Chetan Sakariya
Two youngsters, an aggressive opening batsman and a consistent opening bowler. Chetan is coming off a 3-fer on IPL debut while Prithvi Shaw just decimated the Super Kings attack in game one. Can Shaw get on top of Chetan at the start?
Ravichandran Ashwin vs Jos Buttler
A much talked about battle between two high-profile cricketers, this one has stolen headlines time and again since the Mankad. In our first encounter in 2020 too, Ashwin managed to get rid of Buttler cheaply and it went a long way in helping us win the game. Can he do it again? This one will be an interesting one to watch for fans and neutrals alike.
So, will the DC streak of five wins in a row against RR hit half a dozen, or do the Royals have a trick or two up their sleeve to break the jinx? Only one way to find out.
