We've some live pictures with Faf du Plessis shadow practicing on the centre wicket. So that should be a tick as far as his participation goes and he'll be excited to be back at the ground which showered immense love on him for the past three years. 

Starc: Have started better than last season (laughs). Can't complain with three wins out of three to start. Been great to contribute. I only spent the one year at Kolkata anyway. It's been good. Obviously a different group. A little bit of Aussie flavour there, and a couple of South African guys I've known a little bit as well. Been pretty easy to fit in. Great group of talent and experience. The things that change are probably the wicket conditions. We know it's a small ground and the ball flies around here. Main thing for us is adjusting the quickest to conditions. The approach to T20 cricket doesn't change around the world, and certainly in India where batters are trying to clear the ropes and bowlers are trying to stay one step ahead.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar - Not extremely happy, but not bad. I think I can do a lot better with the way the ball is coming out (of my hand), but there is room for improvement. I'm trying to swing the ball in the nets, here the new ball swings initially, nothing in particular, but I'm working to try and get to my best. Really enjoying it, I haven't felt like I am in a new team, the support I've got from the team and the management has been incredible. We lost the last match we played here, but the way we've played the three matches away, we want to do the same things, don't want to do anything special, just do the basics right and hopefully we'll end up on the positive side (of the result)

It's pitch number 7 for today, right at the centre and the square boundaries are at 64m each, the straight boundary is 73m. There was a shower earlier today, but it was just a small drizzle. The wicket looks like a beauty, few patches of grass, it does look dry, they've put a lot of heavy roller on this surface, so there should be plenty of runs on offer. Last year, there was a 200-run game on this wicket, good luck to the bowlers, reckon Danny Morrison and Varun Aaron, in their pitch report.

6:30 pm IST: It's Match 24 of this season's Indian Premier League and we're back to M Chinnaswamy stadium for the second home match of the Royal Challengers from Bengaluru. They've managed to conquer the Eden Gardens, Chepauk and the Wankhede this season, but have struggled at home, losing their only match to the Gujarat Titans. But they've bounced back since then and will be a confident unit going into tonight's encounter. They're up against the Delhi Capitals, the only team yet to lose a match this season, with 3 wins out of 3 matches. After a nail-biter against the Super Giants from Lucknow, they've hit their straps with two convincing wins, albeit against teams that are currently in the bottom half of the table. The likes of KL Rahul, Mitchell Starc and Kuldeep Yadav are in excellent nick, Faf du Plessis, the erstwhile RCB captain, should be back in the fray tonight and T Natarajan is close to being declared fully fit. No wonder, the Capitals will start today's match as firm favourites. As the Royal Challengers found to their dismay against the Titans, the pitch did offer a bit early on and as such bowling first (a no-brainer at the Chinnaswamy) could be a big advantage, making the toss extremely vital.

Preview by Ganesh Chandrasekaran

Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Delhi Capitals have won the same number of games so far in IPL 2025. Delhi Capitals have not lost a game yet, while RCB, having played more away than at home, are yet to win at home. The burning question is - how do RCB adapt to their own home conditions and turn it to their advantage? For another game in a row, that's the big talking point. What has augured well for them in other conditions - an increase in aggressive intent with the bat - proved to be a thorn in the flesh at home when they faltered against Gujarat Titans, who in turn fared better with a more watchful approach with the bat albeit in more favourable conditions.

The question of assessment and adaptation will be in focus once again, and if RCB can marry their new-found intent according to what's needed, it could go a long way in their quest to find a firm footing at the M Chinnaswamy stadium. They showcased their adaptability and execution of plans well with the ball, in particular, against MI in their previous game which points to good form right through. It is that confidence that they would now try and carry into their home game as well.

Delhi, like RCB, have been blessed with good form shown by their key players in the early season. All of KL Rahul, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel have managed to carry the team through critical stages. Additionally the bluster of the younger players like Vipraj Nigam and Ashutosh Sharma have added more arrows to their quiver.

They too have the required know-how in the ranks for the conditions at play in Bengaluru and will be floating in the same boat when it comes to adapting here. Like RCB, another player who has found the right gears in T20 crcket with the aggressive approach has been KL Rahul. He looks set to go back to the middle-order role if Faf du Plessis gets back to full fitness. With the wins coming their way, it has also covered for some misfiring players like Jake Fraser-McGurk.

"I think the role that Jake plays in every side he's in, is high risk, but when he has his days out is what is the goal. For him, a great tournament will look like influencing and winning three or four games, and there's a lot of games to go. He's got full autonomy from all of our leadership. Ax [Axar Patel], in particular has doubled down on him just playing the way he plays and really taking the game on from ball one. A lot similar to what you'll see from the likes of Phil Salt and people like that. When you play that high tempo game, it's obviously high risk as well, but he does some things that not many players in the world can do," felt Matthew Mott, their assistant coach.

With form not a worry for either team, the challenge would be to carry it forward amidst the challenges posed by the conditions.

When: April 10, 2025 at 19:30 IST

Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

What to expect: The pitch, on the eve of the game, had a distinct green tinge to it. It is not the same one used for the game against Gujarat Titans but nevertheless has the characteristics to assist movement off the surface as was seen earlier in the tournament.

Head to head: RCB 19 - 11 DC

Team Watch:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Injuries/Availability: There are no reported injury concerns for the team

Tactics and match-ups: The in-form Rajat Patidar has a reputation of being amongst the best spin-hitters in the game. Delhi Capitals may look to manage their overs of high-quality spin, from Axar and Kuldeep Yadav, smartly depending on Patidar's presence at the crease. Additionally another 50-50 question is the toss-up between Suyash Sharma or Rasikh Salam as their impact sub for home games. The former has been impressive in the 'away' games but conditions had called for Salam's presence in Bengaluru. Will they go the same way again or could form take precedence?

Probable XII: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam/Suyash Sharma

Delhi Capitals

Injuries/Availability: Faf du Plessis missed Delhi Capitals' previous encounter due to illness but is expected to be available for this match. He had a long nets session and appeared to do it without any concerns.T Natarajan too was taking part in the nets a day prior to the game, but it remains to be seen if he'd be fit and if DC would want to change a winning combination.

Tactics and match-ups: Krunal Pandya could be a match-up option in the PowerPlay, especially against Faf du Plessis who has a strike-rate of 124 against the left-arm spinner. RCB's middle-order has been firing this season, hitting more sixes than any other team so far. Their potential battle against Kuldeep Yadav and Mitchell Starc could prove to be action-packed.

Probable XII: Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma/T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar

Did you know?

- Virat Kohli averages 50-plus and has ten scores over fifty against the Delhi franchise in IPL

- Josh Hazlewood has a dot-ball percentage of 72.9 in the Powerplay in IPL 2025

- Sine 2022 in the IPL, no one has more wickets than Kuldeep Yadav's 40 in the middle overs (7 to 15)

What they said?

"He's just got a great balance on cricket and life. A lot of the times, he'll just summarise the group and make sure the players are included. They're having fun and they've got a smile on their face. He talks a lot about that. I think he's played enough cricket now to know that it can be a pretty fickle game at times. We're well aware that when you're winning, it's all rosy and it's all good. I like to think that he's got that character where if we do have a bad day, he'll be just as positive and the message will be very similar. I think he also leverages off a lot of the other senior players in the group and the coaches. He's not taken it all on himself. I think he's got some fantastic people around him." - Matthew Mott, Delhi Capitals' Assistant Coach, on skipper Axar Patel.

"Execution is going well this time. This year we are able to execute everything whatever we are planning. That's the difference. We are not doing anything magical. We don't have any magical solution. We are trying to execute our plan - Jitesh Sharma, RCB's wicketkeeper, on what's working this season.

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar Salam, Swapnil Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Romario Shepherd, Lungi Ngidi, Nuwan Thushara, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh

Delhi Capitals Squad: Jake Fraser-McGurk, KL Rahul(w), Abishek Porel, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Karun Nair, Darshan Nalkande, Donovan Ferreira, Faf du Plessis, T Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, Dushmantha Chameera, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Manvanth Kumar L, Madhav Tiwari