RR vs DC 9th Match Prediction

RR vs DC Team Previews

Rajasthan Royals

RR was led by a brilliant inning from Sanju Samson in the previous match, a player that has historically started IPL seasons strong but then fallen away. He is going to be lynchpin of the batting lineup once more but he has plenty of support in that department. 

Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal form a potentially blockbuster opening partnership. Jaiswal, especially, has been in brilliant form and is one of our picks to be in the race for the orange cap this season. RR also has Dhruv Jurel in its lineup, another young Indian batter that is very highly rated and someone that has had success at the international level already. 

Having so many quality Indian batters in the lineup is rare and allows RR to play an overseas bowler as its impact player, if needed. Shimron Hetmyer adds power to this batting lineup as well. 

Among the bowlers, Trent Boult and Nandre Burger were used to provide the push with the new ball followed by R Ashwin, Y Chahal, and Sandeep Sharma. There is no doubt about the quality of the spinners and this gives RR one of the most balanced bowling lineups going around. 

We think Sandeep Sharma's reinvention as a death-bowler is a bit risky. He was good in the first match but his lack of pace, absence of a short ball option, and predictability once the batter is set makes him vulnerable. 

Delhi Capitals

Out of all the teams that have played in IPL 2024 so far, we think DC has looked the worst. This is not only true in the manner that they have played but also in the selection of the squad. Why would you not play Prithvi Shaw and Mukesh Kumar in your lineup unless they were seriously injured? Especially when the other options were Ricky Bhuii and Sumit Kumar??

It was bewildering to watch and we have no explanations. 

The positive for DC in the previous match was the comeback of Rishab Pant, who was understabdably not fluent but looked fitter than before his accident. We liked the way Abhisjek Porel played and added impetus in the end. Hopefully that buys him a place in the eleven for this match but with DC, you can never know. 

Mitch Marsh, David Warner, Shai Hope, and Tristan Stubbs are all fine choices as overseas players. They are not necessarily the cream of T20 players going around but if they can start to perform to their potential, DC may have enough runs to play with. 

Ishant Sharma seemed to have injured himself in the previous match and may be replaced. That is a big loss for DC as he was the best fast bowler on show. Kuldeep Yadav continues to be world class and picked up two wickets for just 20 runs in his four overs. 

Axar Patel was quite good also even though he did not pick up a wicket. Mitch Marsh was the most disappointing of the bowlers in the previous match.