DC vs RCB, IPL 2019: Top five player battles - Shikhar Dhawan’s nemesis revealed

Let’s take a look at some important player battles that could decide the match in the capital.

Delhi Capitals will look to move a bit closer to the play-offs when they host Royal Challengers Bangalore in a high-voltage clash at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. On the other hand, there has been no looking back for Virat Kohli’s Bangalore after they arrested a long losing streak on April 19 in Kolkata.

Delhi Capitals' Shikhar Dhawan. (AP)

RCB will enter the Kotla, a very familiar place for their captain Kohli, on the back of a three-match winning run. But the visitors will still have to play out of their skins to stop Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly’s rampaging outfit.

Let’s take a look at some important player battles that could decide the match in the capital.

Parthiv Patel vs Ishant Sharma

RCB opener Parthiv Patel will be up against compatriot Ishant Sharma, who has been in decent form this term. In the past, Ishant has bowled 31 deliveries to Parthiv and has dismissed him once. While the southpaw has scored 41 runs at a strike-rate of 132.2.

Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has scored runs for fun against Amit Mishra in the past the same could be the case in Delhi on Sunday. Kohli has scored 175 runs off 103 deliveries from the leggie in the cash-rich league. But the experienced spinner will take heart from the fact that he has dismissed Kohli twice before in the IPL.

AB de Villiers vs Axar Patel

Middle-order batsman AB de Villiers scored 44-ball 82* and powered RCB to a thrilling win in their last game against Kings XI Punjab. ABD will come up against spin all-rounder Axar Patel in his next match and two enjoy a decent record against one other. Axar has managed to keep de Villiers quiet in the IPL as he has given just 45 runs off 43 deliveries and has dismissed the South African once.

Shikhar Dhawan vs Yuzvendra Chahal

Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan has been in good run-scoring form and is leading the team’s charge at the top. Against RCB, the southpaw will have to contend with the spin and guile of Yuzvendra Chahal, who holds a good record versus Dhawan in the IPL. The opener has scored just 38 runs at a strike rate of 97.4 against Chahal and he has also been dismissed by the spinner twice.

Rishabh Pant vs Mohammed Siraj

Delhi’s wicket-keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will look to continue his good form against RCB but things can go tricky for him against fast-bowler Mohammed Siraj. Pant has score 46 runs off 22 deliveries from the RCB pacer but Siraj has dismissed him twice.