Bengaluru, Apr 10 (UNI) In a significant boost for Delhi Capitals, Faf du Plessis returns to the side while KL Rahul is set to bat in the middle order in the 24th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday.
DC captain Axar Patel, who won the toss and opted to bowl first, confirmed the changes at the toss. "Faf is fit and back in the side, Rizwan sits out. We have fixed our batting order — KL Rahul will bat in the middle today. My fingers are fine, I’ve been protecting them, but I’ll bowl all four overs if needed. Spinners will have a role on this surface, but the pacers can also strike. We’ve picked players for specific roles — two quality leg-spinners as our attacking options. We’ll play according to the match situation."
RCB’s Rajat Patidar, who had been leading the side in Faf’s absence, said he would have preferred to chase but is confident in setting a competitive total. "We would have loved to chase, but the surface looks hard. We’ll look to put up a good total and defend it. I always back my instincts, but I do plan as well. It's important to win home matches and keep the momentum going," he said. RCB go in with an unchanged XI.
The Chinnaswamy pitch is expected to favour the batsmen with its true bounce, though spinners could come into play as the innings progresses.
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal
Impact Subs: Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, KL Rahul(w), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel(c), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Mohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar
Impact Subs: Abishek Porel, Darshan Nalkande, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira
UNI BDN SSP