Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals face off in bid to go top of the table

Virat Kohli wore a big smile when he got to his fifty against the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday. That expression, especially after ending a string of low scores, came as a pleasant surprise to his fans, who have become used to his intense, loud celebrations. In fact, Kohli has looked happier, and calmer, since the start of IPL 2020. A couple of weeks ago, his Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate Parthiv Patel told India Today that he has "never seen him [Kohli] smile so much".

One wonders if Kohli's new, relaxed persona has played a part in the Royal Challengers winning three of their first four games of the season. Or it may be the other way round - Kohli is at peace because the team is doing well. Either way, the fact is after their latest win, the Royal Challengers were at the top of the points table, something of a rarity in recent years.

Their wins have come courtesy an amalgamation of youth and experience. Devdutt Padikkal has been prolific with the bat, Washington Sundar has bowled tightly in the powerplay, while AB de Villiers, Aaron Finch and Kohli have reeled off a half-century each. Yuzvendra Chahal and Navdeep Saini, meanwhile, have done full justice to their roles with the ball in the middle overs and at the death respectively.

The Royal Challengers' stay at the top, though, lasted only a few hours as the Delhi Capitals overtook them by defeating the Kolkata Knight Riders on the same day. Although the Capitals too might be dethroned by the time they face the Royal Challengers on Monday, there is no doubt about their quality as a team.

The Capitals are one of the more balanced sides in the tournament with most of their players in good nick. Their captain Shreyas Iyer scored a swashbuckling 88 not out against the Knight Riders, Prithvi Shaw has two fifties to his name, and Shikhar Dhawan has shown signs of form. In the bowling department, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Amit Mishra have not only been among the wickets but also have their economies under eight. R Ashwin's return from injury makes the Capitals' attack one of the best in the tournament, which means the Royal Challengers' batsmen will have their task cut out.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Devdutt Padikkal, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 Gurkeerat Singh, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Isuru Udana, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Chris Morris, 10 Navdeep Saini, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Harshal Patel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Anrich Nortje