IPL 2023 DC vs GT Preview - Capitals looking to bounce back

Key match stats DC vs GT

Pitch Stats – Arun Jaitley Stadium

Average first innings score: 165
Average first innings winning score: 181
Average powerplay score: 48
Win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 46% / 50%

Team form DC vs GT

DC last 5 matches: L
GT last 5 matches: W

Recent meetings: IPL 2022 - GT won by 14 runs

Preview DC vs GT

The Capitals will still be licking their wounds after the heavy defeat from Lucknow in their opening match. You'd have to say that for the first part of each innings, things were looking good for DC who restricted LSG to just 30 in the powerplay and were going on nicely themselves until a couple of thunder bolts from Mark Wood wrestled back control for the Super Giants.

If anything, it was that lack of an x-factor bowler plus some sloppy fielding that really cost the Capitals in that match. Had Khaleel Ahmed have taken a regulation catch to dismiss Kyle Mayers then things might have been different. LSG scored 67 runs in the 6 overs that followed that missed opportunity and perhaps more worryingly another 64 runs from the final 4 overs of the innings too.

Delhi's bowling attack in that match was all a bit samey and gave David Warner no real partnership breaking options to turn to. They will continue to be without Nortje and Ngidi for at least this match but DC do have fast bowling options on the bench with the likes of Nargakoti, Mustafizur and even Ishant Sharma perhaps in line for a chance in this match.

Meanwhile GT pretty much started where they left off in IPL 2022 with what ultimately turned out to be a comfortable win against CSK. Unlike their opponents today, the Gujrat bowling attack was able to wrestle back control from CSK who at one point looked like they would comfortably post 200. Similarly with bat in hand, just as CSK thought they were in the ascendancy, back came the Titans who once again found someone to finish off their run chase.

What was perhaps most impressive about GT's win is that they achieved it with 11 players! Kane Williamson's knee injury forced the team into what was essentially a straight swap for Sai Sudharsan meaning no extra batsman during their chase.

We've since learnt that the injury sustained by Williamson has ended his participation in IPL 2023 which is a significant blow for GT given that the number 3 spot was one of the few weaknesses they had last season. Matt Wade is still available while Sai Sudharsan himself impressed with a brief cameo of 22 from 17 balls.

This game will take place at the Arun Jaitley stadium which has traditionally produced pitches that have been on the slow and low side. However, we did see 4 matches completed here in the 2021 season before the league was paused and moved back to the UAE and those games saw some high scoring!

Statistic	All-time	2021 matches only
Balls per 4	9.4	7.5
Balls per 6	22.4	13.9
Ave. score at the death	47.6	56.9
Spin Econ	7.5	9.3
Pace Econ	8.1	8.9

Arun Jaitely pitch statistics all-time vs 2021

Early indicators are that the pitches for 2023 are more likely to continue in the same vein as those we saw for a brief period in 2021 which means that we should be in for some runs!

DC vs GT head to head

GT bowling vs DC batting

DC opted to give Aman Hakim Khan just a second IPL appearance as their impact player while going in strong in the batting with 4 overseas players. Hakim Khan had virtually no impact on the game while we've already highlighted some of the deficiencies in Delhi's bowling. You feel that ultimately DC will have to choose 2 out Marsh, Rossouw and Powell while Manish Pandey offers an Indian alternative within the top 4. In fact, Pandey's overall IPL record at the Arun Jaitley Stadium is strong.

Manish Pandey IPL batting record at the Arun Jaitley Stadium

By contrast, bowling at this venue is not something that a few of Gujrat's primary weapons have enjoyed or in many cases done before in the IPL. Their most experienced bowler and leader of the pack, Mohammed Shami spent 4 years with the then Delhi Daredevils but struggled to make an impact here as the stats below show. It is probably worth considering thought that he is a much improved bowler and playing as part of a significantly better team than he was back in those days...

Mohammed Shami bowling stats at the Arun Jaitley Stadium

Rilee Rossouw looked in good touch before something of a freak dismissal ended his innings in the first match. For an incredibly powerful man, he has a beautiful habit of caressing the ball rather than outright slogging it and his form coming into this tournament has been good for a while now. If he does have a weakness it appears to be against wrist-spin and Rashid Khan has dismissed him 4 times in previous T20 encounters since the beginning of 2022 (all LBW or bowled).

Rashid Khan vs Rilee Rossouw in T20 cricket

Rashid is certainly not opposed to giving the big South African a bit of a send off, so that head to head is certainly going to be fun to watch.

DC bowling vs GT batting

CSK opted to go with 2 left-arm spinners against a right hand heavy GT batting line-up with both Jadeja and Santner doing a decent job of limiting the scoring. DC don't really need to make any changes to their line-up to try and exploit those match-ups with Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav their front line spin options and at least one left-arm seamer in the side.

2 things from the statistics available really standout. Firstly, that the inclusion of Matthew Wade as a left-hander in the top order will do little to improve GT's options against left-arm spin as his record below shows.

Wade's T20 head to head record vs slow left-arm bowling

Secondly is the fact that GT's viable top order options for this game all seem to enjoy facing left-arm pace with a collective T20 average of 34 and strike rate of 146. DC do have the likes of Ishant Sharma available who has taken 10 wickets at the Arun Jaitley at a strike rate of 16 in previous trips here or they could look to double down on the slow left-arm spin and give young Vicky Ostwal a debut in the hope of further exploiting GT's apparent weakness in that regard.

One thing is for sure, DC will need to improve their death bowling against a GT side who always seems to find someone to step up at the end of an innings and clear the boundary.

Chetan Sakariya IPL death bowling stats

Chetan Sakariya is probably the best option that DC have in that regard despite being carted for 42 from his final 2 overs against LSG. The youngster really needs to be given a run of matches in order to establish himself at this franchise following his move from the Royals. He took 7 wickets at the death in the 11 matches he played for Rajasthan in 2021 and DC could use something similar this year.

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All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible below
IPL head to head player stats
IPL player stats by venue
IPL stadium statistics.
Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and background images which are used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free