DC vs PBKS Preview: Delhi maintain edge over Punjab as Nortje set to switch Curran

Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant will purpose to show higher tactical acumen in Catch-22 conditions in opposition to a ‘blow-hot-blow-cold’ Punjab Kings in what guarantees to be a battle of brittle middle-orders in an IPL match right here on Sunday.
Both groups are coming into the ‘Norther Derby’ of IPL after enduring defeats of their earlier video games however Delhi Capitals are undoubtedly a greater facet on paper.
Pant, comparatively inexperienced by way of IPL captaincy, misplaced the plot within the final sport the place he didn’t end his finest bowler Ravichandran Ashwin’s quota and as a substitute used Tom Curran’s pleasant medium pacers.
As coach Ricky Ponting identified, he would anticipate a greater “on his feet” pondering from the younger captain.
The probably addition of Anrich Nortje within the enjoying XI will solely bolster Pant’s bowling assault which misplaced its bearings over the past match with Curran’s lack of tempo on a sluggish observe being cannon fodder for Chris Morris and David Miller.
Punjab Kings, alternatively, suffered an inexplicable batting collapse in opposition to Chennai Super Kings with Deepak Chahar’s additional bounce and slight seam motion inflicting the harm.
This was after a wholesome 200 plus whole within the opening sport.
The nature of the Wankhede observe is posing just a few questions underneath lights for top-order batsmen because the final two video games have proven with underlying moisture aiding high quality quick bowling.
So KL Rahul versus Kagiso Rabada and Chris Woakes bowling to Chris Gayle might be as engaging as Prithvi Shaw encountering the guile of Mohammed Shami and Shikhar Dhawan making an attempt to unsettle a disciplined Arshdeep Singh.
Jaydev Unadkat and Rajasthan Royals have proven that regardless of huge enhancements, there are nonetheless some chinks in Shaw’s armoury and Arshdeep might be used to show that.
Both groups are prime heavy in batting with DC dependant on Shaw, Dhawan and Pant for doing the majority of scoring whereas the identical job profile is held by KL Rahul, Chris Gayle and Deepak Hooda within the Punjab line-up.
Even the weaknesses of each the groups are fairly related.
If Ajinkya Rahane’s lack of power-hitting and Marcus Stoinis’ detached present is affecting the DC middle-order, Mayank Agarwal’s extended bad-patch coupled with Nicholas Pooran’s susceptibility to quick balls over his shoulder usually are not nice information for Punjab both.
The middle-orders’ struggles in each the dugouts will make it an engrossing contest with DC bowlers anticipated to carry sway in Nortje’s presence.
In case of Punjab Kings, save Mohammed Shami, the 2 high-priced pacers — Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith — haven’t precisely set the stage on fireplace.
Neither has Murugan Ashwin, a thriller spinner who has performed nothing of be aware that may power Pant and Ponting to have sleepless nights.
Anil Kumble and Rahul could like to consider Ravi Bishnoi as an choice however in addition they must issue within the shorter boundaries in Mumbai, which might devastating for wrist spinners if their size is haywire.
Teams:
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Prabsimran Singh, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Darshan Nalkande, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar.
Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddarth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings.
Match Starts: 7:30 pm.