Today is the 11th match of IPL 16 series, today match will be played between Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals in Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati.

Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals, 11th Match

It’s not fear stations yet, but Delhi Capitals wouldn’t want a third straight defeat to begin IPL 2023.

A batting line- up sans Rishabh Pant, their talismanic leader, has looked wonky with the machine room of David Warner and Prithvi Shaw yet to click into gear.

The middle- order batters were undone by raw pace of Alzarri Joseph and the relentlessness of Mohammed Shami in Capitals’ previous game against Gujarat Titans, and will have to find a way out of their mire quickly. They could not have asked for a better surface than Guwahati to rediscover their touch.

The Royals have been firing away with the bat, and came within touching distance of their second straight win on Wednesday, but have a few combination questions to ponder.

Can they revisit Shimron Hetmyer’s entry point? He only came in to bat atNo. 7 against Punjab Kings, with Royals needing 77 off 35 balls. He nearly got them home, blasting three sixes in an 18- ball 36.

Will they need to reevaluate Devdutt Padikkal’s role? He seems a misfit atNo. 4, which perhaps means they could either have him bat higher or leave him out for Dhruv Jurel or another pure batter.

However, it would mean a rejig of their entire batting order, If they move him up to open the batting. This means Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has struck all the right notes as an opener, drops down toNo. 3, and Sanju Samson toNo. 4.

Only time will tell if they want to go down that route yet. It’s unlikely they’d make such wholesale changes just two games in. Yet it’s something for them to keep an eye out for before the points- table jostling becomes real.

Team news

There remains an inkling of doubt over Jos Butter’s participation. He jarred his little finger into the turf while taking a catch in the match against Punjab, and didn’t open the batting. Samson, the Royals captain, didn’t seem too concerned by the injury in the post-match press conference. However, if the Royals want to tread cautiously, there’s a ready replacement in Joe Root or the South African allrounder Donovan Ferreira, who caught the eye of talent scouts during his stint with Jo’burg Super Kings at the SA20.

Capitals will be without Mitchell Marsh, who has flown home to Perth for his wedding, and will rejoin the squad next week.

Stats that matter

On the nine occasions they’ve faced off against each other, Buttler has struck 72 runs off Anrich Nortje at a strike rate of 163.63, while being dismissed twice.

There is a case for the Royals to open the bowling with R Ashwin as he has the wood over Warner. He has dismissed him five times in T20s, the joint-most by any bowler alongside Kagiso Rabada, Shakib Al Hasan and Umesh Yadav.

Jason Holder’s bowling strike rate of 13.8 is the second-best among bowlers who have picked up at least 20 wickets in the IPL since 2020.