Indian T20 League 2023

BLR vs DEL, 20th Match

Preview

The first encounter this weekend will take place between Bangalore and Delhi on the 20th IND T20 League match day. Faf Du Plessis-led BLR will square off against David Warner-led Delhi on Saturday, 15th April at 03:30 PM IST from M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

Both sides will be heading for this match after losing their last league encounters. BLR has won one of the three games, while DEL is yet to open their points tally after 4 games. Meanwhile, both teams are also desperate to win their maiden league title which they have not achieved in the last 15 seasons of this competition.

Bangalore faced a severe attack from 2nd placed in the league points table Lucknow in their last game. Batting first, Du Plessis-led BLR scored mammoth 212 runs for the loss of two wickets. The courtesy of all-top-order batters Virat Kohli's 61 off 44 balls that included 4 fours and 4 sixes, Faf du Plessis' unbeaten 79 off 46 balls that included 5 fours and 5 sixes, and Glenn Maxwell's 59 off 29 that included 3 fours and 6 maximums in his blistering innings.

In terms of bowling, Mohammed Siraj and Wayne Parnell produced some nail-biting bowling from the Bangalore side in the second innings to reduce KL-Rahul-led Lucknow to 23 for losing 3 wickets in 4 overs. But the left-handed Caribbean batter Nicholas Puran and Aussie all-rounder Marcus Stoinis scored quick half-centuries to snatch the victory from BLR's mouth. The 7th-placed in the points table Bangalore lost the game by a wicket on the game's final ball.

On the other hand, David Warner-led Delhi faced Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai in the 16th league game at Arun Jaitely Stadium. Captain David Warner and left-handed all-rounder Axar Patel smashed half-centuries to guide DEL to a respectable total of 172. MUM's openers both Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan started the chase with a 71-run partnership to give Delhi bowlers a tight slap in under 8 overs. But the spinners brought DEL back into the giving less than 6 runs in 8 overs. 6-time league winner Rohit Sharma finally got its much-awaited IND T20 League fifty after 2 years, his match-winning innings included 6 fours and 4 sixes which ended on 65 off 45 balls.

The ice-cool Aussie-all-rounder Tim David scored the required 2 runs in the final ball of the game for Mumbai to beat Delhi by 6 wickets to open their winning note in the 16th edition of the league. This was Delhi's fourth consecutive defeat of the season. DEL is at the bottom of the points table with 0 points with a negative net rate run of -1.576.

Bangalore always has an upper hand against the Northerns. Batting first, Bangalore scored 189 runs after half-centuries from Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik. In the last outing, BLR overpowered the visitors by 17 runs in the 2022 competition. The veteran batter Warner’s 66 runs off 38 balls couldn’t rescue Delhi, as DEL scored 172 runs in 20 overs. For BLR, Josh Hazlewood and Siraj took 3 and 2 wickets respectively in that match.

Both sides have faced each other 29 times in this league, out of which Bangalore has won 18 times while Delhi has won 10 matches and one match was without any result.

Match Details

Match: BLR vs DEL, 20th Match, IND T20 League 2023

Date: Saturday, April 15, 2023

Time: 03:30 PM

Venue: M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Pitch and Weather Report

This venue is known to assist spinners in the game's later stages of the game. M. Chinnaswamy tends to wear out quickly, and the spinners get significant turns and bounce, making it difficult for batters to score freely. However, the early overs of the game can be quite favourable for the batters as the ball comes onto the bat nicely on this short track. In 16 T20Is, the team batting second has won the game on 9 occasions at this venue, while the team batting first has won 6 times.

7 of the last 9 IND T20 League games have been chased down at this venue. The team winning the toss should bowl first. This track offers flat and good bounce that would carry to the seamers. The outfield is usually quick, and the ball travels well, which makes it an ideal venue for high-scoring games.

The maximum temperature will remain at 36°C, with a low of 21°C with 27% humidity and a wind speed of 18 Km/hr for the 20th Match, the IND T20 League on April 14 b/w BLR and DEL. The weather in M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru during the match day will be clear and no rain is predicted but it is going to be a hot afternoon.

BLR vs DEL Squads

BLR: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Avinash Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Rajan Kumar, Sonu Yadav, Manoj Bhandage, Himanshu Sharma, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajat Patidar, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Siddarth Kaul, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood 

DEL: David Warner(C), Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan(WK), Rilee Rossouw, Axar Patel, Abhishek Porel(WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Aman Khan, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Pravin Dubey, Yash Dhull, Lalit Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Vicky Ostwal, Manish Pandey, Ripal Patel, Philip Salt(WK), Chetan Sakariya, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Rovman Powell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Lungi Ngidi

BLR vs DEL Probable Playing XIs

BLR: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Siraj

DEL: Prithvi Shaw, David Warner (c), Manish Pandey, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Abishek Porel (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman

Match Prediction 

BLR and DEL suffer more than all other teams in the IND T20 league so far, Du Plessis-led side stands a better chance in this game. Their top order is in form and BLR's lead bowler returns in the game against Delhi. While DEL bowlers have claimed 17 wickets out of 40. After suffering at the hands of Kolkata spinners, Bangalore did their homework against Lucknow and kept their wickets while scoring at a run rate of 10 per over. We anticipate BLR to win this match against DEL and get their second win of the tournament.

Top Fantasy Picks

The left-handed batter and skipper of the side David Warner is the leading run-scorer with 209 runs in 4 games for Delhi so far in the tournament. However, his strike rate put Delhi in trouble, his strike rate is 114.83 in the last 4 games. And it’s mainly because no other batter is playing the anchor role. But we can expect a big show from the 3-time Orange Cap holder in this match.

Sri Lanka's all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga will likely make a comeback after missing the first three games for Bangalore. Hasaranga was the second leading wicket-taker in the last IND T20 edition, with 26 wickets in 16 matches. He may play a big role against DEL.

The veteran batter Virat Kohli has scored 164 runs in three games at a strike rate of 147.75 for Bangalore. The 34-year-old flamboyant batter has an excellent record against Delhi. In 27 games, Kohli has 949 runs at an average of 52.72 and a strike rate of 135.57. He will be our choice for the top batter for this match.

The skipper of the side for BLR du Plessis is the leading run-scorer with 175 runs for his side after 4 games, his record against Delhi is not eye-catchy. He has scored 350 runs in 15 games at a strike rate of 115.89 is not ideal for the BLR opener to look back. But he can bounce back against an unbalanced DEL.

Risky Captaincy Choice

The wicket-keeper batter Karthik took the game away from Delhi with 66 runs in 34 balls last time when both sides faced each other. The 37-year-old batter strikes at 142.59 against Delhi in that match. Batting-wise, BLR won’t be having many problems against DEL. Karthik also just scored 1 off 1 ball against LUC, but he can change the scenario of the match with his batting when his side needs the most from him.

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