IPL 2020: RR bank on Sanju Samson, Steve Smith to fire v DC

Sanju Samson and Steve Smith

Struggling to figure out their best XI, Rajasthan Royals will need to come up with some quick-fix measures to snap their three-match losing streak when they take on a formidable Delhi Capitals unit in an IPL match here on Friday. The Royals were off to a flying start, winning both their games at Sharjah but they have struggled to adjust to the bigger grounds of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, slipping to three successive defeats.

Now back to the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Rajasthan will take inspiration from their two big wins here to turn things around against a dominant Delhi. Led by Shreyas Iyer, Delhi have looked solid in all three departments, winning four out of their five matches. For Rajasthan, time is running out as they still have not been able to find their best playing XI.

While the return of Ben Stokes will give them hope but the England all-rounder is currently in quarantine and will be available only after October 11. The sudden loss of form of skipper Steven Smith and Sanju Samson - who did bulk of the scoring in the first two matches - is as much a reason for their failure as the lack of runs from the Indian batsmen in the team.

RR did try to rejig their line-up against Mumbai Indians by including young batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal and pacer Kartik Tyagi and Ankit Rajpoot in the playing XI but it didn't change their fortunes. While Jaiswal was out for a second-ball duck at the top, Rajpoot went for 42 in his three overs but young Tyagi showed promise with his one for 36 on IPL debut.

"It was a great experience to play my first game, to make my debut against players whom I've only watched on television was fantastic," said Tyagi, a key member of India's U-19 World Cup squad which made the final earlier this year.

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