Punjab Kings (PBKS) have a defeat, three wins, and a washout in their last five games. The situation is somewhat inverted for Delhi Capitals (DC), with one win, three defeats, and an abandoned match. DC and PBKS are separated by just one win and ticks of NRR, but both teams are miles apart in their current form.
PBKS are on a roll. They won their previous two games, albeit against struggling sides, and were robbed of a definite win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by rain. DC, meanwhile, lost four of their last six completed games, which would have been five in seven had Hyderabad rain not saved them on Monday. DC also have another thing to worry about, and that is they have to face the big guns of the tournament in their remaining matches. Following their game against PBKS, they will be up against Gujarat Titans (GT) and Mumbai Indians (MI).
Team Overview:
PBKS saw Dharamsala providing the sort of home advantage they haven’t seen in Mullanpur much. Arshdeep Singh made the ball swing on command and destroyed LSG’s hopes in the powerplay. The remaining pacers took on the job with the ball as it got old, and saw PBKS leave with two points. Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer are both into the top ten run-scorers’ list this year, and they look nowhere near stopping. Dharamsala’s surface only seemed to exacerbate their dominance.
Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, and Nehal Wadhera did try to better PBKS’ middle order image with their short-lived yet impactful cameos late in the innings, but Punjab will need something more long-lasting from them, especially when they move out of their home venue.
Delhi Capitals’ top five gathered 27 runs in their game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and the entire team scored 133, thanks to Ashutosh Sharma and Tristan Stubbs’ contributions. Such a timid batting display can only make things worse for DC. Abhishek Porel has joined Karun Nair in downward-spiraling form. The last time he scored in excess of 30 was against LSG in Lucknow, and his string of low scores is hurting DC deeply at the top.
Head-to-Head Matches:
Punjab Kings and DC have played a total of 33 IPL games, out of which Punjab have won 18, and lost 15 at the hands of Delhi.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Dharamsala is a high-scoring ground, as shown in the last game when both sides scored 435 runs collectively. Pacers with the new ball find plenty of movement, but with the air being thinner than at most other venues, strokemaking is fairly easy. But all of that depends on how the weather fares. The forecast isn’t too good-looking, with rain predicted to steadily fall throughout the duration of the game.
Prediction:
PBKS will look to make merry with the home advantage while they can, and give a boost to their playoff chances.
Where to Watch:
India: Star Sports Network, JioHotstar
UK: Sky Sports, SkyGo
USA: Willow TV
Australia: Kayo TV, FoxTel Go
Bangladesh: T Sports, Toffee app
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
Afghanistan: ATN
South Africa: SuperSport
Sri Lanka: Dialog
MENA: Cricbuzz
