With 14 points in 11 matches and an NRR of 0.326, the Royals are currently placed third on the points table. 

After a comprehensive victory against Punjab Kings in their last match, the Royals move on to their 12th game of IPL 2022, taking on Delhi Capitals for the second time this season. The last time both teams locked horns, Jos Buttler’s third century and Obed McCoy’s sensational final over sealed a thriller in the Royals’ favour. Sanju Samson & co. will be aiming to get closer to the playoffs by continuing their pursuit for two more crucial points.

This will be a special occasion for us, as we join hands with Schneider Electric, our Sustainability Partner, for ‘Green Yodha’ - an initiative aimed at uniting conscious citizens, organisations and businesses in India to adopt climate-friendly solutions. Together, we will help plant approximately 17,000 trees in an attempt to offset our carbon footprint, making this match a carbon-neutral game. 

Match Details

Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals - 11 May 2022

DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

7:30 PM IST

In their season’s first encounter, a high-scoring affair resulted in both teams collectively racking up over 400 runs. Jos Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal’s 155-run opening stand, followed by Sanju’s 19-ball 46* powered us to 222 - the highest IPL total this year. Ravi Ashwin and Prasidh Krishna then combined to dismantle DC’s batting line-up, with the latter bowling a game-changing penultimate over. Rovman Powell’s three sixes in the final over threatened to take the game away from us, but a cool-headed Obed bowled three dots to deliver the knockout punch. As a result, the Royals took a slender lead in the head-to-head rivalry against Delhi, and are now ahead with 13 wins in 25 matches. 

The pitch at this venue is a typical pacer’s delight, with 73 wickets falling to pace in 20 innings so far. The average first-innings score here is 170 and teams batting second have won nine of the 17 matches played. Bat first or bowl first, the Royals have had little trouble being successful at both. 

Player battles to watch

Sanju Samson vs Khaleel Ahmed

Sanju Samson has faced chinaman Kuldeep Yadav in five T20 innings, has scored 39 runs and is yet to be dismissed by him. This season, he has taken the attack to the spinners with his fearless stroke-play, striking at nearly 180 as compared to the pacers, against whom he has struck at under 150. Sanju’s overall strike rate of 156 is already the highest among all captains this season. He has also hit the most sixes by any captain in IPL 2022. His intent to go after the bowlers from ball one has given impetus to the Royals’ batting on a number of occasions. The skipper will be keen to continue batting with the same fearless approach. This promises to be a mouthwatering contest!

Ravichandran Ashwin vs David Warner

The Delhi opener has scored 159 runs in 16 T20 innings against Ravi Ashwin, but has also fallen to him on five of those occasions. Considering Ashwin’s success against left-handers, this one will be an interesting duel to watch, especially in the first six overs. In our previous match against PBKS, Ashwin’s solitary over in the Powerplay yielded the key wicket of Shikhar Dhawan - another southpaw. Watch out for this Indo-Aussie face-off!

In the spotlight

Yuzvendra Chahal - Record-breaker & Purple Cap Holder

The leg-spinner is on a dream run in IPL 2022, having recently become the Royals’ most successful spinner in a season. He continues to dominate the Purple Cap charts with 22 wickets in just 11 games so far. With one more wicket to his name, he will surpass Sohail Tanvir for the second-most wickets by a Royals bowler in a single season. An interesting aspect of Chahal’s bowling this season has been his ability to inflict maximum damage in his second spell. 15 of his 22 wickets have come in the third and fourth overs of his bowling spell and he has taken 11 wickets in overs 16-19. No bowler has claimed more wickets at the death than Yuzi Chahal this season. 

Most wickets for the Royals in an IPL season

Year

Name

Inns

Wickets

Economy

Average

Strike rate

2013

James Faulkner

16

28

6.8

15.3

13.5

2008

Sohail Tanvir

11

22

6.5

12.1

11.2

2022

Yuzvendra Chahal

11

22

7.3

14.5

12.0

2020

Jofra Archer

14

20

6.6

18.3

16.7

2019

Shreyas Gopal

14

20

7.2

17.4

14.4

Team News

Shimron Hetmyer exited the Royals bubble immediately after our match against PBKS to attend the birth of his first child, which means there will be one forced change in our Playing XI for the next one. It’ll be interesting to see if the team management considers a like-for-like replacement in Karun Nair or Rassie van der Dussen, or an all-rounder option in Jimmy Neesham or Daryl Mitchell. 

Milestone Watch

  • Jos Buttler is one four away from completing 200 fours for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL

  • Sanju Samson needs eight runs to reach 2000 T20 runs for the Royals as a wicketkeeper

Which Royal are you looking forward to watching in action? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter at @rajasthanroyals or with me @arey_yaar