Last Updated on 4 months by Charbel Coorey

IPL 2021 Match 36: DC vs RR Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | DC vs RR Dream11 Prediction Today | Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals 36th Match Key Players | Abu Dhabi Pitch Report

The 36th game of the 14th season of the IPL will see table-toppers Delhi Capitals square off against the Rajasthan Royals in an intriguing match at Abu Dhabi.

Having won seven of their first nine games, the Capitals are primed for a top-2 spot but they will look to further consolidate their standing with another solid performance.

They come into this game on the back of a stunning performance against the SunRisers Hyderabad where an all-rounder bowling performance-led by Anrich Nortje (2/12) saw them restrict the former champions for an underwhelming total. The target was then gunned down easily thanks to solid knocks by Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant.

Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, got out of jail in the last game thanks to two brilliant death overs by Mustafizur Rahman and Kartik Tyagi and picked up two crucial points to keep themselves afloat in the competition.

The Royals would realize that they need to improve their middle-order batting and their spin bowling performance if they want to be competitive against a top team like Delhi.

They got the better of Delhi in their previous meeting thanks to a whirlwind assault by Chris Morris on Kagiso Rabada and Tom Curran in the last two overs.

Key Players to watch/Key Stats

Delhi Capitals:

• Prithvi Shaw: The swashbuckling opener missed out in the last game- 11 off 8 balls- and he will be looking to make a mark against the Royals. 
• Shaw has thus far racked up 319 runs in 9 innings at an average of 35.44 and a strike rate of 165.28 in IPL 2021. He will be aiming to improve on his average of 19 vs RR.
• Shikhar Dhawan: The southpaw has been a banker for DC in the past couple of seasons. He scored a 37-ball 42 in the last game against SRH, and at the time of writing, is the top scorer in IPL 2021 with 422 runs at an average/strike rate of 52.72/131.87.
• In eight matches for DC vs RR, Dhawan has scored 201 runs at an average of 28.71 and strike rate of 140.56.
• Shreyas Iyer: The former skipper scored an unbeaten 41-ball 47 in the last game to guide his side to an 8-wicket win. He looks determined, and will be aiming to build on his record vs RR (8 inns, 193 runs, avg. 27.57, SR 126.97).
• Rishabh Pant: The skipper has scored the most runs in DC vs RR encounters – 274. He scored an unbeaten 21-ball 35 in the last game.
• Anrich Nortje: The South African pacer was at his imperious best in the last game as he hurried the opposition batsmen with pace. He gave away just 12 runs in 4 overs besides claiming a couple of wickets.
• Avesh Khan: The young pacer claimed three wickets in his last outing against Rajasthan. He had a decent outing in the last match against SRH as he ended up with figures of 0/27 in 4 overs.
• Kagiso Rabada has taken eight wickets in four matches for DC against RR. Also, Rabada loves bowling at Abu Dhabi, with 12 wickets in 20 overs (a wicket every 10 balls).

Rajasthan Royals:

• Evin Lewis: The West Indian swashbuckler made a brilliant return to the IPL as he smashed a rapid 21-ball 36 against the SunRisers. The Royals will hope he continues his form and converts his start into a big knock.
• Yashasvi Jaiswal: The young southpaw showcased his talent to the hilt in the last game as he took the attack to both spinners and pacers to rack up a 36-ball 49. Can he replicate the same against DC?
• Sanju Samson: The skipper had a poor outing in the last game as he managed a mere 5-ball 4. Samson is yet to get a 50-plus score since his brilliant ton in the first game against the Punjab Kings. He has scored a few 40s but hasn’t been able to convert it into a big knock, something the Royals will hope isn’t the case on Saturday.
• Samson will have to turn around a poor record against Delhi. In 10 innings against them, he has scored just the 164 runs at an average of 16.40. Also, he averages 18.71 at Abu Dhabi.
• Chris Morris: He may have had a poor outing in the last game (5 off 5 and 0/47 in 4), but the all-rounder had a field day when RR last played against Delhi. He smashed an 18-ball 36 to guide his side to an unlikely win against the likes of Rabada and Curran.
• Kartik Tyagi: The young seamer showcased his skills and temperament to the hilt in the last game as he defended 4 runs in the final over to seal a win for the ages for his team. He finished with figures of 2/29 in 4 overs and will be hoping to emulate the same against DC.
• Mustafizur Rahman: The Bangladeshi seamer bowled a brilliant penultimate over to set-up the game for Tyagi. He gave away just 30 runs in his 4 overs but the Royals’ will hope for some wickets early on in the innings.

Stats and Facts

• Both sides have played 23 games thus far with RR leading the ledger 12-11
• The sides have locked horns in 4 games away from India and Delhi have won three of them.
• The Royals won the first encounter between these two sides earlier this season.
• Liam Livingstone in T20s in 2021: 33 inns, 1,238 runs, avg. 44.21, SR 157.51.
• Mahipal Lomror struck a 17-ball 41 in his last match. He could be key in overcoming DC’s accurate bowlers in the middle overs.

Possible Playing 11

Delhi Capitals: 1. Prithvi Shaw, 2. Shikhar Dhawan, 3. Shreyas Iyer, 4. Rishabh Pant (c & wk), 5. Shimron Hetmyer, 6. Tom Curran/Sam Billings, 7. Axar Patel, 8. R Ashwin, 9. Kagiso Rabada, 10. Anrich Nortje, 11. Avesh Khan

Rajasthan Royals: 1. Evin Lewis, 2. Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3. Sanju Samson (c & wk), 4. Liam Livingstone, 5. Mahipal Lomror, 6. Riyan Parag, 7. Rahul Tewatia, 8. Chris Morris, 9. Chetan Sakariya, 10. Kartik Tyagi, 11. Mustafizur Rahman

Abu Dhabi Pitch Report and Weather

In the two games played in Abu Dhabi in 2021, bowlers have ruled the roost with KKR seamers and pacers making short work of RCB and MI. However, the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi have shown that there are plenty of runs on offer as well.

As far as the weather is concerned, it is expected to be dry and sunny. The temperatures are set to hover between 32-35 degree Celsius. Humidity is set to be around 54 per cent.

Dream11 & Fan2Play Prediction

Note: Teams below are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these teams in time after the final playing XIs have been announced.

Match Prediction

On current form, Delhi Capitals will start as favorites. However, as have seen with the Royals in the past, rule them out at your own peril.

Also read: Fan2Play vs Dream11 – What’s the difference?