Delhi Capitals’ final run to attempt qualification for the playoffs in the 2024 edition of the IPL kicks off on Tuesday, May 7 against the Rajasthan Royals and the 2020 finalists need to win each of their remaining three games. Delhi suffered a massive loss against the Kolkata Knight Riders in their last game, which was a blip in their late resurgence as they were coming off four wins in the five matches prior to that clash. Rajasthan Royals dropped a game and are yet to get a ‘Q’ against their name, which is enough motivation factor for the Men in Pink, who also lost their top spot on the table.
Delhi will be sweating over the fitness of their two senior players David Warner and Ishant Sharma, who have been out of the action for more than a couple of weeks due to their respective injuries. The Royals, on the other hand, will be without Jos Buttler for the latter part of the tournament and would want to try Tom Kohler-Cadmore in a few games before the playoffs to give him a sense of the competition.
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi pitch report
The lowest first-innings score in Delhi has been 223, which tells you the nature of the surface in the capital so far in the tournament. It’s been 10 days since the last match took place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and the temperatures have soared a bit in the capital since then. Like the surfaces around the country, the heat is likely to have some effect on the pitches in Delhi too as expect them to be a little drier than before. Dry means turn, which in turn means grip in the surface and assistance for the bowlers.
Despite the surface being a bit slow, it might not be 150-160 slow. The small boundaries at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and the fast outfield will still favour the batters but the wicket is used one, given the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad was played on it. All three matches have been won by the team batting first so far in Delhi and with it being a used wicket, there is an expectation of it playing a bit slower in the second innings and hence the captain winning the toss is likely to bat first.