Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals Predictions: Both the teams are struggling with different issues at the moment

Playing in their fourth game of the season Royal Challengers Bangalore will welcome Delhi Capitals in the 20th game of the season at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on 15th April. Delhi will be under high pressure to get their first win of the season and Bengaluru is coming into the game with two consecutive defeats. Who will win this game?

After a strong start to the season with a win against the Mumbai Indians, the Royal Challengers have had a rough time losing their next two games and finding themselves in the bottom half of the table. However, their upcoming match against DC presents an opportunity for them to climb back up the standings. 

In their last match against the Lucknow Super Giants, RCB lost in the final ball of a high-scoring game. They were not able to defend 212 runs which will be a cause of worry for the team in red and gold. They will look to bounce back from the disappointment and start fresh in this game. The opening duo of Kohli and du Plessis has been in great form, each scoring two half-centuries. Maxwell also got some runs in the last match and will be feeling confident. However, the middle order has not been tested much, with players like Karthik, Deep, Bracewell, and Ahmed having limited time in the middle. 

One area that RCB will need to improve on is their bowling, especially in the death overs. While Siraj, Patel, and Sharma have taken wickets, they have been expensive. Hasaranga, the second-leading wicket-taker in the last IPL, is expected to make a comeback in place of Willey. Siraj and Parnell have both taken 3 wickets each in the last game and will lead the pace attack with Patel.

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Wayne Parnell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Siddharth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj

The Delhi Capitals have had a poor start to the tournament, having lost all four matches they have played so far, placing them at the bottom of the points table. They need to start winning soon if they want to stay in contention for a top-four finish.

Despite David Warner's impressive performances with three half-centuries in four matches, none of the other top or middle-order batsmen has managed to impress the fans. Although Prithvi Shaw and Manish Pandey have gotten off to good starts, they have failed to capitalize on them, while the middle order consisting of Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, and Abhishek Porel has not performed well. The fact that Axar Patel, a number 7 batsman, has scored more runs than the top-order batsmen is a testament to the poor quality of the batting.

Axar scored his first-ever half-century in the IPL during the team's latest game against the Mumbai Indians and will be hoping to perform well in this game too. However, he has only taken one wicket in four matches, while Kuldeep Yadav has taken just two. DC's bowling department is currently struggling and their performance has reached a new low. Out of a possible 40 wickets in the four games, the bowlers have managed to take only seventeen. Mukesh Kumar has been the leading wicket-taker for DC with 4 wickets, but his economy rate is above 10. To give them a good start with the new ball, the Delhi Capitals will rely on their seam attack, which includes Mustafizur Rahman, Anrich Nortje, and Mukesh Kumar.

Prithvi Shaw, David Warner (c), Phil Salt (wk), Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman

The Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch is known for being highly favourable to the batting team, making it difficult to defend targets. Therefore, the team batting first should aim to score as many runs as possible from the beginning of their innings. Opting to bowl first would be advantageous in these conditions. The pitch offers good bounce but not much for the bowlers except for some rough patches and cracks. Typically, teams batting first aim to score 200 or more to give their bowlers a chance to defend. Another high-scoring match is anticipated at this venue. Both the teams badly need a win here but given Bengaluru's batting lineup and the return of Hasaranga we expect them to get two points in the game.