A freakish innings by Chris Morris of Rajasthan Royals (RR) robbed Delhi Capitals (DC) of their second triumph of the season. On the other hand, Punjab Kings (PBKS) suffered a heavy defeat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their previous encounter. Now in the quest for two crucial points, Delhi and Punjab will lock horns in the match 11 of the 14th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 18.
The head-to-head counter between these two sides favours Punjab (15-11). However, Delhi have a fierce pace attack, and skipper Rishabh Pant would like to exploit the weaknesses in KL Rahul-led team’s top-heavy batting line-up, which were exposed by Deepak Chahar in the last game.
This will be the last outing at the Wankhede Stadium for both teams in this year’s IPL. The toss is likely to play a vital role yet again. Captains usually avoid having to defend totals because of the dew. Partly because of the dew, spinners have not had much to say at Wankhede either. It is likely that both teams will depend largely on their seamers to tame the opposition batsmen tonight.
Team News
Following a COVID-19 scare, Anrich Nortje, bowler of the fastest ball in IPL history, is available for selection. He is expected to make it to the Delhi playing XI straightway. He can replace Tom Curran and partner Kagiso Rabada and Chris Woakes in the line-up. With the inclusion of Nortje, Delhi’s death bowling is expected to have a significant improvement from their last performance.
Having been bowled out for a mere 106 against CSK, Punjab may contemplate adding more security in the batting, especially in the middle-order. Hence, all-rounder Moises Henriques can come into the side for Riley Meredith, a talented fast bowler who is yet to find the right length on Indian pitches.
Punjab also have the option of playing Dawid Malan, the top-ranked T2oI batsman, for the out-of-form Nicholas Pooran. After a couple of below-par performances, M Ashwin may lose his place to young Ravi Bishnoi, who had an exceptional season last year.
Head to head:
As mentioned before, in head to head count Punjab currently enjoy a 15-11 lead over Delhi in IPL.
Key Players:
KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal (Kings XI Punjab): For Punjab to pose any threat to Delhi’s well-decorated bowling line-up, the much-fancied Rahul-Mayank partnership needs to fire.
Marcus Stoinis (Delhi Capitals): After two quiet games, time is running out for Stoinis. Unless he pulls off something special now, he may be replaced by the likes of Steven Smith and Sam Billings.
Probable XIs
Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Chris Woakes, Ravi Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Jhye Richardson, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Prediction:
Delhi, courtesy its pace attack, will prevail over Punjab before bidding goodbye to Wankhede for this season.