JAIPUR: Delhi Capitals have little time to dwell on what has been a bruising stretch of results as they gear up to face a confident Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League match here on Friday.
It has been a difficult run for the Axar Patel-led side this season. They have swung between extremes in the last two games. From posting a 250-plus total only to concede a world-record chase, to being bowled out for 75 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Add to that a one-run defeat against Gujarat Titans earlier this month, and Delhi have had their share of emotionally damaging results. With three wins and four losses, they are seventh on the table and need a turnaround soon.
Delhi's biggest concern has been their inconsistent batting. While the likes of KL Rahul, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs and Sameer Rizvi have all contributed in patches, the unit has failed to click collectively.
In the last match, Abhishek Porel's knock as an Impact Player was one of the few positives, helping the team avoid a record-low total and the team management will be tempted to give him a go in the playing XI.
There is some good news on the bowling front. Pace ace Mitchell Starc is set to return after getting clearance from Cricket Australia to play from May 1. With Lungi Ngidi still unavailable, Starc's inclusion comes as a timely boost. He is likely to replace either Kyle Jamieson or Dushmantha Chameera.
Delhi's bowlers couldn't do much while defending 75 in the previous game , but they will need to be sharper against a strong Rajasthan batting line-up.
Their top order has been aggressive, with fearless Vaibhav Sooryavanshi taking on world class bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins from the outset and Yashasvi Jaiswal showing good touch.
The fourth-placed Royals, in contrast, come into this match with confidence. They recently handed Punjab Kings their first defeat of the season, which was their sixth win in nine games.
Another positive for Rajasthan is the middle order finding form after a slow start. That gives them more balance and makes them harder to contain across the innings.
Against a Delhi attack that has been under pressure, Rajasthan will back themselves to continue their momentum.
For Delhi, the focus is clear. The batters need to put together a complete performance instead of relying on individual efforts. The bowlers, with Starc back, must find ways to control the scoring, especially against an attacking top order.
Squads:
Rajasthan Royals: Shubham Dubey, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Riyan Parag (c), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Kwena Maphaka, Sandeep Sharma, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Ravi Bishnoi, Aman Rao Perala, Adam Milne, Kuldeep Sen, Dasun Shanaka, Sushant Mishra, Vignesh Puthur, Ravi Singh, Brijesh Sharma.
Delhi Capitals: Axar Patel (c), K.L. Rahul, Karun Nair, David Miller, Pathum Nissanka, Sahil Parakh, Prithvi Shaw, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Ajay Mandal, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Auqib Dar, Nitish Rana, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Dushmantha Chameera, Lungisani Ngidi, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc.
Match starts 7:30pm IST.