The Indian Premier League regular season concludes on Friday with another double header of action which sees two IPL 2021 matches beginning at the same time for the first time in history. One of those matches sees the Royal Challengers Bangalore taking on the Delhi Capitals in Dubai.
These two teams know their season will extend beyond this match so in essence it is a dead rubber to all intents and purposes. Delhi Capitals will face the Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier on Sunday while Bangalore will take on Kolkata in the eliminator on Monday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
The Royal Challengers Bangalore would have been hoping to battle it out for a place in the top two in this match but in order for that to happen they had to beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad last time out to give them that shot. They butchered a run chase in that match though so they now know that after this match they are going to have to win three straight matches if they want to win the title and finally get their hands on the elusive trophy.
That loss to the Sunrisers won’t have been a bad thing apart from condemning them to knockout cricket from here on in once they have got this match out of the way. It will have brought them down to earth a little after a good spell of form in which they were looking like the form horse in the competition. If they heed the warning the Sunrisers gave them and don’t get complacent again then we might be looking back on that as something of a blessing in disguise.
Delhi Capitals
The Delhi Capitals are flying into the postseason. They know they will go into it as the table toppers so they have two bites at the cherry to make the final. They have won four of their five matches in the UAE and the real positive thing for the Capitals is they have won those matches but I don’t think we have seen a complete performance out of them yet. Given that there is no pressure on them here I’m sure the Delhi outfit will be looking for that complete performance to give them something to take into the playoffs with them.
It is really only the batters who aren’t delivering the goods for the Capitals. The bowlers have gone very well in this tournament both in India and in the UAE but since the tournament restarted Delhi have been fighting their best combination and haven’t really found it yet. If they can find it here you would have to make them favourites to win the title next week. It will be interesting to see if they play around with their order or not.
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Key Men
Virat Kohli has made a couple of 50s since the tournament touched down in the UAE but he hasn’t really looked his fluent best just yet and if the Royal Challengers Bangalore are going to win the title you would think they will need their captain at his best so a confidence boosting innings would be the order of the day here.
The same can be said of Rishabh Pant for the Delhi Capitals. He keeps on threatening something big and then he’ll go for one shot too many and get out and leave the rest of his team to pick up the pieces. That needs to change if the Capitals are to go into the playoffs fully firing.
Betting
I’m a little surprised that the Delhi Capitals are the outsiders for this match. They are the better side of the two and for me the Royal Challengers Bangalore have been a little too reliant on Glenn Maxwell for my liking. Nobody else in this batting unit really looks like they are on top form at present and their bowlers seem to hang in there and hope they are the recipient of mistakes rather than force the issue and get them. That means there is a good chance the Capitals could get away from them in both innings.
Although both of these sides have things they can get out of this match, I think the Capitals go into it in the better place and were Marcus Stionis be passed fit that would just help the situation a little more. If the Delhi bowlers can keep Glenn Maxwell as quiet as possible and get into the Bangalore order early I think they have it in them to get the job done and continue their fine form ahead of the first qualifier on Sunday.
Tips
Back Delhi Capitals to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with 888sport
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