As Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) reach the capital for an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match against the Delhi Capitals, so did Dinesh Karthik, a former member of the Delhi franchise. On the eve of the contest between the two sides, Karthik met DC captain Axar Patel while the latter was batting in the nets. A brief meet and greet between the two turned into Karthik reminding Axar that he is a captain and should focus on batting practice in the nets.
"Don't joke around, please carry on batting. That's exactly why I don't come near the nets," was the RCB mentor's message to the DC skipper. Here's how the conversation went:
Axar Patel: DK Bhai ko hello toh bolunga na. (I will say hello to my brother, DK)
Dinesh Karthik: Go be a captain.
Axar Patel: Arey DK bhai, bhai ho yaar aap. (You are my brother, DK)
Dinesh Karthik: Eh tu khel na yaar. Mazak mat kar. Islie main net ke paas nahi ata. (You go and bat, don't fool around. That's exactly why I don't come near the nets).
Both teams have a well-rounded look and that reflects from them having 12 points each – though DC are ahead of RCB on the basis of net run rate and having one defeat less than them. RCB have won six of their ten meeting against DC in New Delhi, both teams are literally neck to neck in how they have gone about their business in batting and bowling.
As per statistics from Cricket-21, RCB have a better strike-rate (161) and run-rate (9.7) in batting power-play as compared to DC (155 and 9.3 respectively), thanks in large part to Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal being in great form. But when it comes to batting in the middle and death overs, DC have the upper hand.
With the firepower of KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma, DC have a strike-rate of 152, and run-rate of 9.1 in middle overs, which is more than what RCB have in that phase (139 and 8.3 respectively). In the last five overs, DC's strike-rate is a massive 205 and run-rate at 12.3, which is again more than RCB's numbers (190 and 11.4 respectively).
When the last time these two teams met at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Rahul's 93 not out and an unbeaten 38 from Stubbs lifted DC out of trouble after losing three wickets in the powerplay and put them on the path to an astonishing victory.
With IANS Inputs