Tussle of the heavyweights | IPL 2020 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals: SWOT Analysis

The Royal Challengers Bangalore face the Delhi Capitals in IPL's match 19 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The two teams are in the hunt for a maiden IPL title and have impressed with strong performances so far. This is a clash of the table-toppers.

Let's take an in-depth look.

The SWOT for RCB

Strengths: The batting has been RCB’s strength for many years. Virat Kohli was having some batting troubles in recent matches but roared back to form with a fifty against RR. The main batsmen - Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, AB de Villiers and Kohli - have all registered fifties in the tournament.

Weaknesses: The bowling still has problems. RCB's bowlers had reduced RR to 70/4 but they managed to recover and post 154. RCB’s death bowling continues to be poor and the bowlers are not able to close out the matches.

Also Read | IPL 2020 Points Table: DC go on top of the table

Opportunities: With 174 runs, Padikkal now has the most runs by an Indian in their first four IPL innings as an opener. This is the perfect opportunity for him to establish himself as an RCB mainstay. If Padikkal makes a strong case for himself, he could get a call-up from India’s T20 squad.

Threats: The team has momentum on their side. The tournament is moving closer to the halfway mark, so they need to keep the pressure on the opponents and fight for the results. A couple of defeats could undo the good work that has been done.

The SWOT for DC

Strengths: The South African duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje have bowled extremely well at a fiery pace. Rabada takes on the responsibility of bowling at the death while Nortje takes care of the middle period. Captain Shreyas Iyer has been able to rotate the Indian pacers around the two and the method has worked wonders.

Weaknesses: Shikhar Dhawan has not got a fifty yet and his form is a cause for concern. Prithvi Shaw has been hit or miss so far. The opening partnership simply needs to get better.

Opportunities: With Shimron Hetmyer's inconsistency, Alex Carey can be given a chance to show his skills.

Threats: DC appear to be among the strongest teams this year but they need to work on their consistency. Can they become one of the rare teams to book a play-off berth early?

Head to head:

Matches played: 24

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 15

Delhi Capitals: 8

No result: 1

Last five matches (most recent first):

Royal Challengers Bangalore: W-W-L-W-W

Delhi Capitals: W-L-W-W-L

Deccan Herald’s Dream XI

Devdutt Padikkal, Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, AB de Villiers, Marcus Stoinis, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Navdeep Saini

Ground conditions

The temperature will be around 32 degrees celsius. The humidity should be around 64%. There will be a gentle breeze.

Team news

No injuries reported so far from either team.

Impact player for RCB

Yuzvendra Chahal: The spinner is again RCB’s leading wicket-taker with eight scalps so far. He is averaging 14.37 with an economy of 7.18. He is Kohli’s trump card to face any tough match situation.

Impact player for DC

Shreyas Iyer: Consistency is his middle name. Iyer is DC’s leading run-scorer this season and is averaging 56.66. Expect him to continue his rampant run.

Betting odds (bet365)

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 9/10

Delhi Capitals: 9/10

How to watch

The match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports network. Viewers can also catch the action online on Disney+Hotstar. The match begins at 7.30 PM IST.