RR led thanks to Sanju Samson’s brilliant inning in the previous match, a player who historically starts IPL seasons well but then falls behind. He will once again be the linchpin of the batting lineup, but he has greater support in this regard. Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal form a partnership that has the potential to be a blockbuster. Jaiswal, in particular, is in sparkling form and is one of our contenders for the Orange Cap race this season. RR also has Dhruv Jurel, another young Indian batter with a very high rating who has already found success at the international level. The presence of such a large number of quality Indian players in the lineup is rare and allows RR to use a foreign bowler as their impact player when needed. Shimron Hetmyer also adds strength to this lineup. Among the bowlers, Trent Boult and Nandre Burger were used to provide the initial push with the new ball, followed by R. Ashwin, Y. Chahal, and Sandeep Sharma. There are no doubts about the quality of the spinners, making RR one of the most balanced bowling lineups. We believe that Sandeep Sharma’s transformation into a death bowler is somewhat risky. He was good in the first match, but his lack of pace, inability to bowl short deliveries, and predictability after the batsman is set make him vulnerable.
We believe that among all the teams participating in IPL 2024, DC looked the worst. This applies not only to their style of play but also to the selection of the lineup. Why not play Prithvi Shaw and Mukesh Kumar in your lineup if they haven’t suffered serious injuries? Especially when other options were Ricky Bhui and Sumit Kumar?? It was unpleasant to watch, and we have no explanations. A positive moment for DC in the previous match was the return of Rishabh Pant, who clearly didn’t speak fluently but looked better than before the accident. We liked how Abhishek Porel played and added momentum towards the end. Hopefully, this will earn him a spot in the XI for this match, but you never know with DC. Mitch Marsh, David Warner, Shay Hope, and Tristan Stabbs are excellent choices as overseas players. They may not necessarily be the cream of the T20 players, but if they can start to unlock their potential, DC may have enough runs to play with. Ishant Sharma seems to have suffered an injury in the previous match and may be replaced. This is a big loss for the District of Columbia as he was the top fast bowler on the show. Kuldeep Yadav continues to perform at the world level and took two wickets for just 20 runs in four overs. Axar Patel was also decent, although he didn’t take a wicket. Mitch Marsh disappointed more than any other bowler in the previous match.
