*PBKS VS DC PREVIEW- MATCH 64*
*THE BUILD UP:*
*DELHI PLAY FOR PRIDE:*
Delhi became the first team to be knocked out of the tournament. They were never quite able to threaten as a collective unit and rightly so, were eliminated. But now, kicking off proceedings at the beautiful stadium at Dharamshala, they have a good chance to seek pride and spoil other team’s party. This game offers them much more than just 2 points.
Punjab on the other hand will be keeping a close eye on the points table. They are currently placed at the eighth position with 6 wins but a win today gives them an elevation, to rise to the 5th spot and keep kicking to make it through to the playoffs. If we look at this game from the perspective of other 7 teams who are yet to qualify, a PBKS loss is what they will hope for. So with an entire army against them, Punjab have their task cut out.
*DC PROBABLE XI:*
Phil Salt(wk), David Warner(c), Mitchell Marsh, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Rovman Powell, Aman Hakim Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar
David Warner has never been dismissed by Arshdeep, Rahul Chahar, Rishi Dhawan and Ellis, all of whom are likely to start for Kings. He's faced a total of 99 deliveries from them. As he enjoys a favourable matchup against this trio, the value behind Warner for DC increases even more.
Mitch Marsh and Powell have practice on playing at venues with high bounce and pace and Dharamshala is expected to offer similar conditions. Even if the openers fail for DC, they can bank on this destructive duo to take the team forward.
*IMPACT SUBSTITUTE STRATEGY:*
Praveen Dubey to play the role of impact sub but Manish Pandey could play a similar role if DC bat second.
*PBKS PROBABLE XI:*
Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada
PBKS has a good opportunity to play Rabada here as he is the perfect fit to exploit these seam friendly conditions. His ability to bounce out batters and his serious pace could be a real boon today. I expect him to take his spot from Ellis and put on a good show if used well.
Livingstone could be targetted by the trio of Ishant-Kuldeep-Axar as he has struggled against them. Collectively, they have gotten the better of him on three occasions in just 36 balls. He will have to be vary of them if he has to come out good for Punjab today. The fact that he is used to similar conditions should ideally help his cause.
Prabhsimran Singh would be high on confidence after his spectacular show the other night vs the same opposition. He has been the man in form and came to this IPL after having a stellar run in the domestics. His wicket is what DC would eye taking quickly.
*IMPACT PLAYER STRATEGY:*
Rishi Dhawan to come in as the impact substitute. He knows these conditions well and was a representative of MI the last time an IPL match happened at this very venue. A similar role could be played by Shahrukh Khan if they bat second.
*MY PREDICTIONS FOR THE GAME:*
*FOR DC:*
Highest run getter- David Warner/Mitchell Marsh
Highest wicket taker- Ishant Sharma/Khaleel Ahmed
*FOR PBKS:*
Highest run getter- Shikhar Dhawan/Prabhsimran Singh
Highest wicket taker- Kagiso Rabada(if he plays)/Rishi Dhawan
*FOR THE GAME:*
While a DC win would spice up the points table even more, Punjab is the stronger side. DC would hope that their overseas batters click to drive them home otherwise it’s an uphill task for the Capitals.