IPL 2021, RR vs DC: Rajasthan without Ben Stokes against Delhi Capitals

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Ajinkya Rahane, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Lalit Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Tom Curran, Avesh Khan

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Manan Vohra, Sanju Samson (w/c), David Miller, Jos Buttler, Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Chetan Sakariya, Jaydev Unadkat, Mustafizur Rahman

Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and have opted to field. Follow all the live updates of the IPL 2021 contest here.

Toss Update: Captain @IamSanjuSamson gets it right and says that @rajasthanroyals will bowl first against @DelhiCapitals in Match 7 of #VIVOIPL. Both have made 2 changes to their XI.

Follow the game - https://t.co/SClUCyADm2 #RRvDC pic.twitter.com/wx4gcvS0FF

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 15, 2021

Delhi Capitals have brought in Shams Mulani as a short-term COVID-19 replacement for Axar Patel for their IPL 2021 campaign. Axar had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus during his mandatory quarantine ahead of the season. Mulani represents Mumbai in domestic cricket and has featured in 10 first-class, 30 List A and 25 T20s so far. This will be his maiden experience at the IPL.

Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals have also signed Anirudha Joshi as a replacement for the injured Shreyas Iyer for the rest of the IPL 2021. Joshi, a middle-order batsman and an off-spinner, joins his third IPL team, having been a part of the RCB and RR in the past.

The weather is unlikely to disturb the game between DC and RR in Mumbai as there are no signs of rainfall. Just like the previous games played at the stadium, the weather is expected to be hot and humid with a maximum temperature of 34° celsius.

The pitch at the Wankhede is a batting paradise with lots of runs in store for the stroke-makers. The battle between DC and RR will be interesting from this aspect as both teams have a number of batting superstars including the likes of Pant and Samson.

The two sides have met 22 times in the IPL, with DC and RR winning 11 encounters each. In IPL 2020, Delhi won both the matches.

Rajasthan Royals (Probable XI): Manan Vohra, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c/wk), Liam Livingstone/ David Miller, Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya.

Delhi Capitals (Probable XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Woakes, Tom Curran/Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan

“Sanju backed himself to get the job done, and he nearly did, he was five or six yards short of hitting that last ball for a six and sometimes when you are hitting the ball well and you are in form, you believe you can do it,” Sangakkara said in a virtual press conference. “It was encouraging to see Sanju do that, you can always talk about a miss single here or there but the crucial thing for me is players’ belief and attitude, commitment into what they know their strengths are. “Sanju took it upon himself to finish that game and he just fell a few yards short and that happens, but the next time I believe that he will hit that 10 yards further to win us the game.”

“Around 6 months of international cricket for him (Pant) one against Australia and here against England. Now he (Pant) is responsible for the captaincy because of injury,” Lara, who holds the record for highest individual score in Test cricket, said on Star Sports’ Select Dugout show. “Plus, he doesn’t have the services of (Anrich) Nortje, (Kagiso) Rabada, and Axar Patel. So, they are asking a lot of him. I think he has got a team that will support him which is most important. He has grown in the last 4 months and I think he will do a good job.”

Delhi Capitals pacer Anrich Nortje from South Africa on Wednesday tested positive for Covid-19, in what comes as a huge blow for the club and tournament Indian Premier League. Nortje is the second DC player to have tested positive after all-rounder Axar Patel on April 3, six days before the start of the new edition of the tournament. Nortje, who flew in to India along with fellow paceman Kagiso Rabada, is asymptomatic at the moment with results of a further test awaited later on Wednesday.

“Someone like him (Pant), you want him to get involved in the game as early as possible, and bat for as long as possible,” Ponting told cricket.com-au. “The way he thinks, he is actually a bit like Virat or Kane. Now, if they are in at the end, you are going to win more often than not no matter how many runs are required,” the legendary Australian said. “He is energetic and you can hear that from behind the stumps, he loves being in the contest and he is a winner,” the DC coach was all praise for his captain.

“To be very honest, we are not over excited with wins this season. We have plans. We traded Harshal (Patel) from Delhi, gave him a specific role and he’s doing a great job,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation.

Virat Kohli smashed a chair with a bat when he walked back to the dugout after losing his wicket against SRH on Wednesday. Kohli is known for his aggressive attitude on the field. He was visibly livid with himself after losing his wicket after playing himself in as he wanted to play deep. He had struggled against SRH in the previous six innings.

Think @imVkohli is a bit cross #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/nzEtxry6ic

— simon hughes (@theanalyst) April 14, 2021

Did Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner miss a trick by not taking first strike after winning the toss against Royal Challengers Bangalore? Batting second in Chennai is increasingly turning out to be a nightmare. On Tuesday, Kolkata Knight Riders imploded in dramatic circumstances. On Wednesday, it was SRH’s turn, fluffing what looked like a straightforward chase to go down by six runs. In pursuit of 150, they were 96/1 after 14 overs with Warner and Manish Pandey in control of proceedings. However, Warner’s exit spooked them as RCB’s unheralded left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed picked up three wickets in the 17th over as RCB recorded their second successive win. READ MORE

The contest will also witness test of wits of two new captains in Pant and Samson.

Both Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson have been given new roles in the Indian Premier League 2021 season. Who will come out on top tonight? #RRvsDC
Find out more such IPL stats here https://t.co/ABDUBiSUsU pic.twitter.com/cpb7pJYKc3

— Cricketpedia (@cricketpedia_in) April 15, 2021

Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes’ Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 campaign has come to an abrupt end after injuring a finger on his left hand during Rajasthan Royals’ opening game against Punjab Kings. Stokes was injured while taking a diving catch to dismiss West Indies dasher Chris Gayle on April 12 and subsequent investigations revealed that he sustained a broken finger, which will, unfortunately, rule him out of the 2021 season.

While DC made a superb start under new captain Rishabh Pant, clinching a seven-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their opening contest, RR suffered a four-run defeat against Punjab Kings in a high-scoring match on Monday night.

Coming off a heart-breaking loss and hit by star all-rounder Ben Stokes’ injury-forced ouster, a beleaguered Rajasthan Royals would hope for another inspirational knock from new skipper Sanju Samson when it faces a confident Delhi Capitals in an IPL match on Thursday.