DC vs PBKS Match Preview
For DC, Skipper David Warner was excellent with the bat early on in the season but has been found struggling to score runs in his last few outings. Phil Salt and Rilee Rossouw have got a couple of good starts but have failed to convert them consistently into big scores. They were beliigerent when they last played in the capital and that could give them confidence ahead of this match also.
It is a similar story with the top Indian batsmen of the squad too, as the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Manish Pandey, and Sarfaraz Khan have had a terrible run. DC has chopped and changed between them without much success.
Axar Patel on the other hand has played exceedingly well with the bat, making this his best season in terms of the number of runs scored. He hasn’t been that lucky with the ball though as despite being economical, he hasn’t been able to take wickets at regular intervals.
It is a similar story with Kuldeep Yadav, who has picked up just 9 wickets in 11 matches. The seamers have done a decent job with Mitchell Marsh leading the way at 12 wickets.
PBKS will depend on Shikhar Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh to open the batting here and they will be looking to give the team a good start. Dhawan has by far been the most consistent batsman in the team, scoring 3 half-centuries in 8 innings, and is also the leading run-getter in the team.
The others, including Jitesh Sharma, Sam Curran, and Liam Livingstone have chipped in on several occasions, and have helped the team put up some big totals. Punjab Kings have scored 200 or more on 4 occasions this season, which is their best such performance since the 2014 season.
In terms of power-hitting through the middle and depth in the lineup, PBKS holds a definite advantage.
However, it is the bowling that has emerged to be a weak link for the team.
Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran, who are the team’s top seamers, have been taken for around 10 runs per over so far. Nathan Ellis has bowled well in patches but that hasn’t nearly been enough to contain the opposition batsmen. Arshdeep, in particular, seems to have lost his confidence and is being smashed about at the death by all teams.
It is a similar story in the spin department too, as Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar have managed to pick up just 10 wickets between them so far.
Weather Report
The weather here is expected to remain warm with temperatures between 33-38 degrees Celsius.
Pitch Report
When compared to some of the other venues this season, the Arun Jaitley Stadium offers a more balanced track, providing opportunities for the bowlers to take wickets. The average first-inning score here has been around 170. The pitch here is on the drier side and a bit sluggish. There are some cracks too, which can be exploited by the seamers as well as the spinners.
Notable stats
Jitesh Sharma’s Explosive Batting
Jitesh Sharma has played some good innings this season and is hitting the ball pretty well. He has scored a total of 262 runs so far at a scintillating strike rate of 160.49.
Team News
There are no updates regarding injuries from either side.
DC vs PBKS Probable 11
DC Playing 11
- David Warner (C)
- Phil Salt (Wk)
- Rilee Rossouw
- Mitchell Marsh
- Axar Patel
- Aman Hakim Khan
- Lalit Yadav
- Ripal Patel
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Khaleel Ahmed
- Ishant Sharma
PBKS Playing 11
- Shikhar Dhawan (C)
- Prabhsimran Singh
- Bhanuka Rajapaksa
- Liam Livingstone
- Jitesh Sharma (Wk)
- Shahrukh Khan
- Sam Curran
- Harpreet Brar
- Rahul Chahar
- Arshdeep Singh
- Rishi Dhawan
Dream11 Prediction
Both teams have fared rather inconsistently this season. But we are going to back the Delhi Capitals to win here. They have a good record in the recent matches against the Punjab Kings. The balanced surface at the Arun Jaitley Stadium may negate the batting prowess of the Punjab Kings and it is likely to be the bowling that will be the deciding factor here, something where the Capitals have an edge.
Top Picks
Mitchell Marsh: Marsh has been bowling well in the last few matches and is the highest wicket-taker for the team with 12 wickets. He has also scored some important runs in the middle order.
Axar Patel: Patel is having an excellent season with the bat and has been very consistent in scoring runs. He also has an excellent economy rate and has bowled the most dot balls for DC this season.
Shikhar Dhawan: Dhawan is the leading run-scorer for the Punjab Kings this season and is batting at an average of 58.17, scoring a total of 349 runs.
DC vs PBKS Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: P Salt, J Sharma
Batters: D Warner, S Dhawan, R Rossouw
All-rounders: M Marsh (C), A Patel (VC), S Curran
Bowlers: A Singh, I Sharma, K Ahmed
