Big picture - Can RR get their floundering season back on track?

They lost their first two games, then won two and have now lost two more matches to have just four points after six games. And if they thought it could get any easier, Rajasthan Royals (RR) now travel to the Arun Jaitley Stadium to face second-placed Delhi Capitals (DC), who seem to have most bases covered.

RR's top order has been found wanting and without the depth in their batting, their middle overs have lacked teeth. RR have the second-best powerplay run rate of 9.72 in IPL 2025, behind Punjab Kings, but that drops to 7.86 in the middle overs: the second-worst behind Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

That's where RR will have to buckle up against DC. In Kuldeep Yadav, the hosts have one of the most potent middle-overs bowlers. Kuldeep has bowled 18 overs in this phase and has gone at an economy of just 5.94, picking up nine wickets, the second most only behind Noor Ahmad.

On a flat surface, RR desperately need their inconsistent batting to come good. Sanju Samson has scored just fifty so far, Riyan Parag form has been indifferent, Nitish Rana has just had one innings of note, while Shimron Hetmyer's entry point has stirred some debate. Only Yashasvi Jaiswal with two fifties in his last three games seems to have found some consistency. RR will need the rest of the power-packed batting unit to fire.

For DC, there are fewer issues, but Jake Fraser-McGurk's form might have them sweating. He's scored 46 runs in five matches at 9.2 and a strike rate of 100, a far cry from the sensational season he had last year. While the DC management has backed him, time might be running out for the youngster.

DC have four wins in five games, but their loss against Mumbai Indians will sting them and they will want to get back to winning ways ASAP. A clash against a beleaguered RR might just be what they are looking for.

Form guide: Can DC make it five out of six?

Delhi Capitals LWWWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals LLWWL

Team news and likely XIIs: Is du Plessis fit?

There is still uncertainty over Faf du Plessis' fitness with the word from the DC camp being that he is recovering. "He's recovering well although I'm not sure (if he'll play or not). As far as I know, it's not a big concern," Mohit Sharma said about du Plessis' availability for the RR game. If he is fit, it is likely he will replace Fraser-McGurk at the top of the order, with Karun Nair slotting in at No. 3. If du Plessis is yet to recover, then DC might go with the same XII as the game against MI, with Nair swapping with Mukesh Kumar as the Impact Sub and vice-versa. Du Plessis, however, was not available for practice on the eve of the game.

Delhi Capitals (probable): 1 Faf du Plessis/Jake Fraser-McGurk, 2 Abishek Porel, 3 Karun Nair, 4 KL Rahul (wk), 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Ashutosh Sharma, 7 Axar Patel (capt), 8 Vipraj Nigam, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mohit Sharma, 12 Mukesh Kumar

RR do not have any injury concerns but need to take care of other issues. They could possibly look at having Akash Madhwal come in place of Tushar Deshpande, while Kumar Kartikeya is again expected to come in as the impact player replacing Rana.

Rajasthan Royals (probable): 1 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Tushar Deshpande/Akash Madhwal, 11 Sandeep Sharma, 12 Kumar Kartikeya

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In the spotlight - Karun Nair and Riyan Parag

After what has been a barely believable domestic season for Karun Nair, he's made a statement knock in IPL 2025. In his maiden appearance of this season, Nair smashed a 40-ball 89 to nearly take DC home against MI. His takedown of Jasprit Bumrah - 26 runs in nine balls - will remain the highlight of the season. He came in as an Impact Sub against MI, but that is likely to change going forward, especially if Fraser-McGurk's lukewarm season continues. Incidentally, Nair has had a couple of stints with RR, the most recent one coming in 2022, the last time he played in the IPL and also had one of his best IPL seasons with them back in 2014.

There were a lot of expectations from Riyan Parag after the bumper season he had in 2024, but it's been a season of what-ifs for the batter so far. He's scored at least 25 or more in five of the six innings so far, yet his highest score remains 43. Parag has looked compact most of the time he's walked out but has thrown it away more often than not. Considering the placid surface in Delhi, RR will rely a lot on Parag to provide the top-order muscle he is capable of. Another important battle will be between Parag and the DC spinners. He does not have a great record against spinners in the IPL; a strike rate of 118.61, and that will be crucial considering he will come up against Kuldeep and Vipraj Nigam, two of the better spinners in the tournament this year.

The big question

Pitch and conditions

Delhi has recently become a haven for batters with run-scoring at an all-time high. In the last seven games, teams batting first have posted scores in excess of 200 each time and have also won. The surface for the DC-MI game was once again a belter where the home side almost chased down 206. But, there was also some turn on offer and that could bring the likes of Wanindu Hasaranga, Nigam, Kuldeep and Maheesh Theekshana into the game.

The temperature is likely to hover around the mid to late 30s on the Celsius scale, but the evenings are expected to be cooler.

Stats and Trivia

• Kuldeep's economy in IPL 2025 of 5.60 is the best for any bowler with at least ten overs under his belt

• RR have taken the third-fewest wickets so far in the IPL: 29 in six innings

• RR are marginally ahead in the head-to-head count, having won 15 out of 29 matches between the two sides, with DC winning 14

• Mukesh has had the wood over Jaiswal in the IPL. Jaiswal has managed just seven runs in two matches against the pacer and fallen twice

• KL Rahul has a great record against Jofra Archer in the IPL: 89 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 151 without being dismissed even once

Quotes

"I am not someone who… if the game demands that I should tell Sanju [Samson] or anyone that I can do something here or bowl, then I will. But there is no need to overthink. I always try to take whatever comes my way and help the team, be it bowling, batting or fielding. I also want to bowl regularly, because I have bowled before and am a decent bowler. If situation arises, why not, I will talk to Sanju and let's see what happens."
Nitish Rana on his bowling.

"KD (Kuldeep) is bowling very well not just for DC but in the entire tournament. Despite bowling on small grounds, dew being around, he is not being read that well right now and hopefully he won't be later also through the tournament. The way Axar has been using him to pick wickets, break partnerships is great."
Mohit Sharma on Kuldeep Yadav's impact