IPL 2018: Match 6, Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils - Expectation vs Reality

Both the teams from the north lost the opening games in their contests away from home. While Rajasthan Royals lost by 9 wickets, Delhi Daredevils were defeated in their opening match by 6 wickets. Before this encounter, RR stand at the bottom of the table while DD stand fairly better at the sixth spot. However, RR will have higher hopes to change their fortunes because this encounter will be played at their home ground at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

RR, in particular, will have to seriously make sure that their batting order is sorted because they need their batsmen to come good to compensate for their bowling attack that looked extremely vulnerable in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Delhi Daredevils, too, have to tweak their line-up and work on their batting order and also occupy Glenn Maxwell who is now available for selection.

Both teams will need a big headstart to make sure that they dominate the first leg of the tournament before the competition gets tougher for them. In order to do that, there will be some expectations from players of both teams. Do your expectations match ours? Take a look:

A better performance from Colin Munro

He was dismissed on a single digit on his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut but there are high expectations from him in the next match to set the IPL on fire due to his ability to trouble bowlers early in the innings. There were talks about the possibility of him becoming a sitting duck in the subcontinent, however, they only need to be reminded of his 109* in Rajkot against India last year to reconsider the threat he possesses.

It is important for Munro to understand that he cannot throw the kitchen sink at everything and from the very first ball. He has to be the aggressor at the order while Gambhir anchors but for him to realise that grounds like the Sawai Mansingh Stadium or perhaps even the MA Chidambaram Stadium are not the ones where mere pinch-hitting work.

Shahbaz Nadeem should play

One expectation I have from Gautam Gambhir and Ricky Ponting and Co. is to do away with the philosophy of choosing someone with a reputation in the next game if they need to. This is in reference to Amit Mishra. Of course, he has a lot of performances in the past to back his case but if his bowling against Kings XI Punjab was anything to go by, the combination of both Rahul Tewatia and Amit Mishra does not look as helpful as one Shahbaz Nadeem can provide.

Tewatia and Mishra were hit for 70 runs with just 1 wicket between them. Mishra, who was hit for 46 runs alone, is likely to be benched for the next game. Since Tewatia was relatively economical with figures 1/24, he may get a life, but in all likelihood, the next combination will not be one that includes two leggies.

Watch out for the reality check that comes right after the match….