Our final game of the league stage offers a chance to keep the good run going without any additional pressure, with the no.1 spot on the table already secured. However, momentum is a funny thing in cricket, and our DC Men in Blue will aim to say goodbye to the league stage and march into Qualifier 1 with a win under their belt.
The fact that the game is against the Royal Challengers Bangalore will serve as added motivation. We lost to them by the finest of margins earlier in the season, falling agonisingly short by 1 run despite the best efforts of our captain and Hettie.
Looking forward to the game, Kagiso Rabada wants the team to learn from the past and go one step further on Friday.
“It definitely is something of the past (on the last encounter vs RCB). We realise the threat that they can bring. They’ve got some really destructive batters. Our old teammate Harshal is doing extremely well there. So we know the threat that they possess. We just need to believe in our strengths as well, and also look at the last game. See where we went wrong. But in the same vein, that result is in the past. But we still need to learn from that result. I think we need to start afresh and we are definitely not going to take any game for granted.”
More of the same expected vs RCB
Dubai has been good to us once again, and DC have won all their games there. With Qualifier 1 at the same venue, Friday’s clash will provide an opportunity to just fine-tune some aspects of the game before the big clash.
With the surfaces getting slower, spinners would once again be expected to dominate the proceedings. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel didn’t concede a single boundary in their 8 overs against CSK and expect them to strangle the opposition if conditions are in their favour once again.
The batters would look to spend time at the crease to get themselves in prime form come the big game on Sunday, and the night game could make batting slightly easier than past games.
Stat Attack
Axar Patel is the most economical spinner with more than 5 wickets in IPL 2021. Bapu has an economy of just 6.05 this season, with 14 wickets to his name.
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Gabbar will look to continue from where he left off against CSK, as he played the anchor role to perfection with a well-made 39. 20 more runs for Shikhar and he will become just the 4th batsman to score 2000 runs for the franchise.
The Indore Express has already picked the highest number of wickets by an Indian bowler for us in a single season. He has 3+ wickets in 4 innings this season, which is joint-most by a bowler alongside KG, who achieved the feat last year.
Key Battles
The Indore Express vs King Kohli
Avesh has made a habit of picking up wickets in the powerplay this season and is currently third on that list with 6 wickets. His target on Friday will be King Kohli, who can be deadly if he settles and gets his eye in.
The Master vs ABD
Mr 360 is never too far away from a match-winning knock, and the challenge of keeping him in check will fall on our Ash in Dubai. He has dismissed him twice in the IPL while conceding just 59 runs in 56 balls against him.
RP17 vs Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal looks like a man reborn in Dubai and has been one of the most impressive spinners going around. The middle overs battle could see Rishabh Pant come up against him, and our captain will look to make most of the match-up and cause some havoc against the leggie.
View this post on Instagram
Our final game of the league stage offers a chance to keep the good run going without any additional pressure, with the no.1 spot on the table already secured. However, momentum is a funny thing in cricket, and our DC Men in Blue will aim to say goodbye to the league stage and march into Qualifier 1 with a win under their belt.
The fact that the game is against the Royal Challengers Bangalore will serve as added motivation. We lost to them by the finest of margins earlier in the season, falling agonisingly short by 1 run despite the best efforts of our captain and Hettie.
Looking forward to the game, Kagiso Rabada wants the team to learn from the past and go one step further on Friday.
“It definitely is something of the past (on the last encounter vs RCB). We realise the threat that they can bring. They’ve got some really destructive batters. Our old teammate Harshal is doing extremely well there. So we know the threat that they possess. We just need to believe in our strengths as well, and also look at the last game. See where we went wrong. But in the same vein, that result is in the past. But we still need to learn from that result. I think we need to start afresh and we are definitely not going to take any game for granted.”
More of the same expected vs RCB
Dubai has been good to us once again, and DC have won all their games there. With Qualifier 1 at the same venue, Friday’s clash will provide an opportunity to just fine-tune some aspects of the game before the big clash.
With the surfaces getting slower, spinners would once again be expected to dominate the proceedings. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel didn’t concede a single boundary in their 8 overs against CSK and expect them to strangle the opposition if conditions are in their favour once again.
The batters would look to spend time at the crease to get themselves in prime form come the big game on Sunday, and the night game could make batting slightly easier than past games.
Stat Attack
Axar Patel is the most economical spinner with more than 5 wickets in IPL 2021. Bapu has an economy of just 6.05 this season, with 14 wickets to his name.
View this post on Instagram
Gabbar will look to continue from where he left off against CSK, as he played the anchor role to perfection with a well-made 39. 20 more runs for Shikhar and he will become just the 4th batsman to score 2000 runs for the franchise.
The Indore Express has already picked the highest number of wickets by an Indian bowler for us in a single season. He has 3+ wickets in 4 innings this season, which is joint-most by a bowler alongside KG, who achieved the feat last year.
Key Battles
The Indore Express vs King Kohli
Avesh has made a habit of picking up wickets in the powerplay this season and is currently third on that list with 6 wickets. His target on Friday will be King Kohli, who can be deadly if he settles and gets his eye in.
The Master vs ABD
Mr 360 is never too far away from a match-winning knock, and the challenge of keeping him in check will fall on our Ash in Dubai. He has dismissed him twice in the IPL while conceding just 59 runs in 56 balls against him.
RP17 vs Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal looks like a man reborn in Dubai and has been one of the most impressive spinners going around. The middle overs battle could see Rishabh Pant come up against him, and our captain will look to make most of the match-up and cause some havoc against the leggie.
View this post on Instagram
