IPL 2019 DC vs RR Preview: Delhi eye big win in pursuit of 2nd place finish

Delhi are currently sitting third with 16 points from 13 games. A win against Rajasthan will enhance Delhi's chances of featuring in Qualifier 1, giving them two shots at the May 12 final

In match 53 of VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Delhi Capitals (DC) will host Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in Delhi on Saturday. Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals have already qualified for the playoffs but they would look to win the match to regain second position in the playoffs. Rajasthan Royals are at the fifth position in the IPL 2019 Points Table and still have faint chances to make it to the playoff, procided they win their last league match and other teams in the contention lose their remaining matches. DC suffered a jolt ahead of the clash as their most successful fast-bowler Kagiso Rabada has been ruled out of the remaining 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a back injury. The South African right-arm bowler is the leading wicket-taker of the 12th season, with 25 wickets in 12 games at an average of 14.72. Effective in the death overs, Rabada had pulled off a Super Over win for his side against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with his perfect yorkers to deny big-hitter Andre Russell. Delhi 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 May 12 final.

CHECK MATCH 54 (RCB vs SRH) LIVE score, toss updates and match commentary here

CHECK MATCH 53 (DC vs RR) LIVE score, toss updates and match commentary here

Check IPL 2019 Points Table here
 

Delhi Capitals Team News:

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.

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.

Delhi will have to get its act together as the side can't afford to majke such mistake at this level. Delhi may bring experienced Ishant Sharma in place of either Jagadeesha Suchith or Chirs Morris.

Rajasthan Royals Team News:

Rajasthan Rajasthan are mathematically still alive in the tournament with 11 points from 13 games.

They need to win against Delhi and hope for favourable results from other remaining games to secure a play-off berth as the fourth team.

But a win against Delhi 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.

Here's the playing 11 prediction for both the teams:

Delhi Capitals

Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Colin Ingram, Sherfane Rutherford, Axar Patel, Jagadeesha Suchith/Ishant Sharma, Sandeep Lamichhane/Chris Morris, Amit Mishra, Trent Boult

Rajasthan Royals

Ajinkya Rahane, Liam Livingstone, Sanju Samson(w), Ashton Turner, Riyan Parag, Stuart Binny, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Varun Aaron, Oshane Thomas
 

IPL 2019, Match 53: DC vs RR Live streaming details

Date and Day: May 4, 2019, Saturday.

Place: Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi

Time: 4:00 pm IST

DC vs RR match live streaming will be available live on Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 in English Commentary and Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD in Hindi Commentary. One can also live stream the DC vs RR 2019 IPL match on Hotstar app and Tatasky app. The fans can also watch in-depth analysis of live match on Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD.

Squads for DC and RR

DC Playing 11

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.

RR Playing 11

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.