3 player battles to watch out for in RR vs DC, Match 9 of IPL 2024 ft. Rishabh Pant vs Yuzvendra Chahal
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) will host the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the ninth match of the IPL 2024 season in Jaipur on Thursday, March 28. The Royals were too good for the Lucknow Super Giants in their previous game as the hosts emerged victorious by 20 runs.
Delhi, on the other hand, lost their opening game against the Punjab Kings and will be hopeful of getting their first points on the board. While having skipper Rishabh Pant back is a massive boost to the Capitals, they will need to raise their game to get the better of Sanju Samson and Co. in their own den.
On that note, let's take a look at three match-ups from the game that could determine the eventual result:
#3 David Warner vs Trent Boult
Ever since 2022, Trent Boult has been the bonafide wicket-taker for RR with the new ball and he proved so again in their previous game against LSG by picking up the big wickets of Quinton de Kock and Devdutt Padikkal. DC have a strong opening combination in David Warner and Mitchell Marsh and the Royals will need to strike early to set the tone.
Boult seems to have the wood over Warner in all T20 cricket, as the southpaw has scored just 77 runs in 82 balls off the left-arm seamer and also has been dismissed thrice. If Boult gets the ball to swing, this could be a fascinating match-up.
#2 Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Anrich Nortje
South African speedster Anrich Nortje's potential return to the Capitals' XI could be a big boost for Rishabh Pant and his men. His tearaway pace and ability to bowl at the death is something DC need given how things panned out in their first game of IPL 2024.
Moreover, Nortje also has a favorable match-up against the explosive Yashasvi Jaiswal. The RR opener has scored just 13 runs off 17 balls from Nortje and has also been dismissed once. While Nortje has the edge going into the game, Jaiswal will not hold back from expressing himself, suggesting that this match-up could go either way.
#1 Rishabh Pant vs Yuzvendra Chahal
Rishabh Pant gave a lot of joy, not just to the DC fans but also to the entire cricketing fraternity, when he made his comeback to competitive cricket against the Punjab Kings. While he scored just 18 runs off 13 balls, Pant's match-winning ability is something the Royals will be wary of.
With big boundaries in Jaipur, RR will hope their spinners come into play and Yuzvendra Chahal is certainly one who will make use of the ground dimensions. While Pant has a reputation for taking down spinners, Chahal has also shown his ability to not wilt under pressure and get the better of the big hitters.
Pant has scored 73 runs in the 51 balls he has faced off Chahal, but the leg-spinner has dismissed the former once. It is arguably the biggest battle in the middle overs that could make a massive difference to DC's eventual score.