Delhi Capitals (DC) take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) as Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bowl first in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash at the Arun Jaitley stadium on April 16, Wednesday. Both RR and DC decided to field the same teams which they played in their last matches respectively.
What did the captains say after the toss?
After winning the toss, RR captain Sanju Samson said:
"(thinks before replying) We'll bowl first, looks like a good wicket. Gets better in the second half. The results and match conditions have been different, but we are still early in the tournament so we want to bowl first and get an advantage. It is a competitive league, so we need to look past results sometimes. We decided as a team we need to put in a good performance whatever happens. Same team".
Meanwhile, after losing the toss, DC skipper Axar Patel said:
"Would have bowled as well. There will be dew perhaps in the second innings, but now we are ready to bat first and put up a big score. Last game also we did well chasing, just a matter of a couple of overs here and there going in our favour. Need to look past the last game, but it is a learning experience. We discussed in the team meetings how we could have finished the game, we perhaps got too casual in the middle phase. Same team for us as well."
DC's playing XI
Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma
RR's playing XI
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Nitish Rana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande
Pitch Report
"Dimensions - 61m to the right and 62m to the left, 72m straight. Not a great place to be a bowler. It is a nice surface, we saw in the last game as well when 205 runs were scored. It is a bit drier today so it gives the bowlers enough assistance. There’s decent grass cover but it is a bit patchy. The average winning score last season was 230, but this surface will give the bowlers a little more grip for the spinners and the quick bowlers with their change-ups. Looks like an even surface that gives the bowlers a little bit and the batters a little bit as well. But because of the dimensions, there are a few more challenges for the bowlers," Greame Swann and Shane Watson analysed the pitch.
DC vs RR's head-to-head record
DC and RR have locked horns with each other 29 times in the IPL so far. Out of 29 matches, Delhi have clinched wins on 14 occasions while Rajasthan emerged victorious 15 times.