RPS vs DD Match Prediction: Who will win the match between Rising Pune Supergiants and Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2016, Match 49
In their quest to make it to the playoff stage of the VIVO IPL 2016, Delhi Daredevils will take on Rising Pune Supergiants at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ADA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam on Tuesday. The Daredevils have won 6 out of the 11 matches they have played so far and are currently placed in 5th position on the league table. The Supergiants, on the other hand, only have 3 victories in 12 matches in their debut IPL season and have been eliminated from the race for the playoffs.
Delhi have produced a much better performance in the ninth edition of the IPL compared to their exploits in the past few years. However, they have still been quite inconsistent and have often managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Their players have been in decent form across both batting and bowling.
Pune, meanwhile, have started out their IPL journey on a poor note as they are currently placed right at the bottom of the points table. To be fair to them, it has not been an easy road due to the fact that they lost 4 of their big signings - Kevin Pietersen, Steven Smith, Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Marsh - to injuries.
The match will be an extremely important one for DD as they will look to take a step further towards a chance to take part in the playoffs. For RPS, though, it will just be about finishing off their campaign on a high with a couple of wins.
Venue: Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ADA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Vishakhapatnam
Match date: 17 May 2016
Match timings: 20:00 IST, 14:30 GMT
If Rising Pune Supergiants bat first
Predicted score: 150 and above
The RPS batting line-up has been quite dependent on top-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane to score the runs and the 27-year old has not disappointed so far. Rahane has a tally of 419 runs from 19 innings at an average of slightly under 42 and 6 half-centuries till now. Apart from him, only skipper MS Dhoni and southpaw Saurabh Tiwary have come up with notable contributions among the batsmen.
All-rounder Thisara Perera has played the role of the aggressor during the last few overs of the Pune innings with decent effect and boasts of a strike rate of close to 161. Replacement players Usman Khawaja and George Bailey have both got starts but they have been unable to translate them into an innings of substance.
The bowling has been pretty average from the Supergiants bowlers and is among the key reasons for their failure to do well in their debut year. Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa has been very impressive, though, and has quickly become his team's leading wicket-taker with 8 wickets in a period of just 3 matches.
Almost all the bowlers who have represented RPS this season have been among the wickets. However, the wickets have not come regularly and there has been a severe lack of match-winning efforts. The biggest problem for them has been the modest returns from their premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has just 6 wickets from 12 matches.
Since his team has virtually crashed out of the tournament, skipper Dhoni may be wanting to ring in a few changes in the playing XI for the match against Delhi Daredevils.
If Delhi Daredevils bat first
Predicted score: 160 and above
It has been quite a team effort from DD as far as their batting in the current edition of the IPL is concerned. Left-handed opening batsman Quinton de Kock has led the way with 381 runs in 10 innings and holds the distinction of scoring the first century in this year's IPL. Sanju Samson and Karun Nair have both played a good hand for Delhi with more than 200 runs in their kitty.
Young batsman Rishabh Pant has been one of the most promising players in the tournament and has managed to impress many with a tally of 161 runs from 7 innings. The highly-experienced JP Duminy has also played his part in the batting order despite not getting enough chances to bat. The hard-hitting Chris Morris has also been quite handy as a lower-order batsman.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra has continued his terrific run in IPL cricket with yet another wonderful performance in this season. Mishra has grabbed 13 wickets and is the leading wicket-taker for his team. Morris, too, has been highly impressive in the bowling department with 11 wickets in the tournament already.
Daredevils skipper Zaheer Khan has also looked decent with 9 wickets in as many matches. Imran Tahir and Mohammad Shami have also picked up 5 wickets each but have proved to be slightly expensive. The bowlers need to come up with a solid effort in DD's remaining matches in the league stage to help them qualify for the playoffs.
Probable Winners: Delhi Daredevils