Delhi Capitals, currently fifth in the standings with 13 points from 11 matches, have managed just one win in their last five outings. The side, led by Axar Patel, has struggled to find consistency, particularly in the batting department. Their most recent encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad ended in a no result after rain interrupted play, but not before Delhi suffered a top-order collapse.
The Capitals lost half their side for just 29 runs before Ashutosh Sharma, along with Tristan Stubbs and Vipraj Nigam, salvaged the innings with a late fightback to post 133. The top order, including Karun Nair and Faf du Plessis, failed to convert starts, while key batter KL Rahul also fell cheaply. The team will be hoping that a batting-friendly Dharamsala surface brings a change in fortunes.
Punjab Kings, on the other hand, have enjoyed a strong season so far. With seven wins from 11 matches, the Shreyas Iyer-led team sits just outside the top two and is pushing for a top spot. The team’s batting unit has been led by Prabhsimran Singh, who has scored 437 runs as an opener, and Iyer himself, who has notched up 405 runs with four half-centuries.
Supporting acts from Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, and Shashank Singh have given Punjab depth in the middle order. With the ball, the Kings have found match-winners in Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal. Arshdeep, with 16 wickets, has been effective in the powerplay, while Chahal has regained his rhythm, highlighted by a hat-trick against CSK.
Delhi will rely on their experienced bowling unit, which includes Mitchell Starc and the spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Vipraj Nigam, to counter Punjab’s aggressive top order. Fast bowlers Dushmantha Chameera and Mukesh Kumar will also be key in containing runs early in the innings.
The conditions at Dharamsala are expected to favour batters, which may set the stage for a high-scoring contest. With playoff spots on the line, both teams will look to execute their plans with precision.
Squads:
Delhi Capitals: Axar Patel (c), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (wk), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Sameer Rizvi, Darshan Nalkande, Donovan Ferreira, Tripurana Vijay, Dushmantha Chameera, Faf du Plessis, T Natarajan, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Manvanth Kumar L, Madhav Tiwari.
Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (c), Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Kuldeep Sen, Pyla Avinash, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan, Harnoor Pannu, Aaron Hardie, Priyansh Arya, Azmatullah Omarzai.
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