Kohli's men to bounce back against the Capitals
Match 22 of the Vivo Indian Premier League is a chance for the Royal Challengers Bangalore to recover from their first defeat of this year’s competition, where they suffered a heavy 69 run defeat to the now top of the pack Chennai Super Kings. Their opposition in this one are the Delhi Capitals who had to endure a super over win last time out against the Sunrisers in Chennai
Strength at the top
The return to form of opener Shikhar Dhawan will please everyone associated with the Delhi Capitals as the Indian leftie finds himself leading the race to be the top run scorer in the IPL this year. His 28 helped get his side up to 159 in their last game on Sunday against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In response, Axar Patel was the pick of the Capitals bowlers picking up two wickets from his spell of four overs. With the Sunrisers needing 28 from the final two overs, Avesh Khan and Kagiso Rabada couldn’t manage to steer the ship and get the Delhi side home as the Sunrisers managed to take the game to a super over. But they managed to restrict SH to just 7 as Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant finally secured the two points for the Capitals.
The win means the Capitals move up to 2nd in the table, as of Sunday night.
A bump in the road
Virat Kohli will be hoping that his men treat Sunday’s mauling against the Chennai Super Kings as nothing more than a blip, as they were beaten by a Ravi Jadeja masterclass. After four wins on the spin to start this year’s IPL, a defeat was always going to come, but the RCB faithful will be hoping that the manner of their defeat is nothing to be concerned about.
They were looking in pretty good shape with the ball, all the way until the final over where Ravi Jadeja managed to hit 37, and help to ruin Harshal Patel’s figures. It meant that they were now chasing 192 to win the game, and keep themselves at the top of the table.
For the first three overs, the Royal Challengers looked excellent climbing to 44-0, including hitting two overs from the dangerous Deepak Chahar for 25 runs. But when Kohli wafted at a wide half-volley from Sam Curran and was caught behind, RCB managed to slump from 44-0 to 103-9 and ultimately ended up 69 runs short. Only four batsmen in double figures for Kohli’s men, as they will be hoping to get this bad result out of their system.
Match Tip
A big top of the table clash will be a very tight and edgy affair, and as RCB shown last time out, if it doesn’t go well, it can go disastrously wrong, but I am backing them to get back on the horse, and take the two points.
That’s why I am backing the Royal Challengers Bangalore to beat the Delhi Capitals at 1.90 with Casumo.
Post bet chat Jack's Tips:
The narrowest of wins by just one run for RCB