*DC VS PBKS PREVIEW- MATCH 59*
*THE BUILD UP:*
Delhi Capitals on the surge in the second half has certainly made the points table fascinating. What has helped their case is the renewed energy in their camp, on both fronts, taking off the pressure off Warner and Ponting. The mantra for them to keep kicking in this tournament is simple- they need to win all and hope some results of other sides go in their favour. A loss at any stage would hurt them badly, forcing their exit. Their opponents of tonight are aware of the feeling of doing well and yet not doing exceedingly well, as a result, they are placed at 8th despite winning 5 games in this tourney. Even Wasim Jaffer very explicitly said that “this is now new for us”. However a win tonight for the Shikhar led Punjab Kings would see them placed at 5, building onto the hope of qualifying.
*DC PROBABLE XI:*
David Warner(c), Phil Salt(wk), Mitchell Marsh, Manish Pandey, Rilee Rossouw, Axar Patel, Aman Khan, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed
The two spinners, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, have been Delhi’s only shining lights this season, and DC will hope that they can tie up Punjab’s power-packed middle order.
Warner has fallen to Rabada five times in 14 T20 innings but has a strike rate of 149 against him. This battle upfront could prove to be important in the context of the game.
Rossouw has fallen to Arshdeep Singh three times in three T20 innings and is yet to score against him. When he comes out to bat, expect Shikhar to hand over the ball to Arshdeep as soon as possible, to further build on this fabulous matchup.
*IMPACT PLAYER STRATEGY:*
Ishant Sharma could come in as the impact sub with Roussow playing the same role if DC bat second.
*PBKS PROBABLE XI:*
Shikhar Dhawan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Rishi Dhawan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Ellis/Kagiso Rabada.
With a bowling lineup that is packed with quality and proven players, Punjab would hope they deliver against Warner who is likely to hold the glue for DC tonight, largely due to his impressive record vs PBKS.
Livingstone could make use of the shorter boundaries here at Delhi and the fact that he has hit form at the right time could prove to be adventurous for PBKS who need a win badly after successive losses.
*IMPACT PLAYER STRATEGY:*
Arshdeep Singh to be used as the impact sub with Prabhsimran playing the same role if PBKS bat second.
*MY PREDICTIONS FOR THE GAME:*
*FOR DC:*
Highest run getter- David Warner/Mitch Marsh
Highest wicket taker- Kuldeep Yadav/Khaleel Ahmed
*FOR PBKS:*
Highest run getter- Liam Livingstone/Jitesh Sharma
Highest wicket taker- Sam Curran/Kagiso Rabada
*FOR THE GAME:*
PBKS to win