🏏IPL 2023: Match 64 - DC vs PBKS on 17/05/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

🏏IPL 2023: Match 64 - DC vs PBKS at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala on 17/05/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

Tag & Logo Credit: Sevenstreaks

Punjab Kings take on Delhi Capitals in another crucial fixture

They haven't made the playoffs since 2014 and need two points from this contest to keep hopes alive

Punjab Kings in must-win territory

The last time Punjab Kings made the playoffs was in 2014, when they were known as Kings XI Punjab. Since 2015, they have won seven group games out of 14 only twice.

This season, the Kings are still in the race for the playoffs, but they have plenty to do to make the climb up from eighth place. They can get to 16 points if they win their final two league games, but will also have to try and improve their negative net run rate. And beginning with Wednesday's fixture against Delhi Capitals, they are moving their home base from Mohali to Dharamsala.

The rise of their young Indian talent - like Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma - has been a success story for the Kings this season, but they haven't got as much as they would have liked out of their more high-profile batters like Liam Livingstone. They have also fiddled around with their batting order a fair bit, and in their most recent match - which was also against the Capitals - Prabhsimran scored a century to lead them to 167 for 7, while the next highest score was Sam Curran's 20.

On the bowling front, the Kings have taken the fewest wickets this season. Kagiso Rabada and Sam Curran haven't been in prime wicket-taking form while Arshdeep Singh has been expensive, but Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis and Rahul Chahar restricted Capitals to 136 over the weekend.

The Capitals were the first team to get knocked out of the running for the playoffs, following their defeat to the Kings. After a phase when they won four out of five games, Capitals lost their two most recent fixtures and will hope to end a troubled season on a high. If they do, it could ruin the hopes of the Kings.

The return of the Kings to this picturesque stadium brings back several fond memories of the nine IPL games played here back in the day. While PBKS has won five and lost four matches at this venue, opponents Delhi Capitals have won once and lost twice.

With the IPL 2023 league stage nearing its conclusion, pitches have begun to turn slower than usual. In such a case, Dharamsala’s pitch could provide the competition with a much-needed breath of fresh air.

After a 10-year absence, the Indian Premier League is set to return to the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Although Himachal does not have its own IPL franchise, the neighboring state’s Punjab Kings used the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium as one of their home grounds for four seasons in a row between 2010 and 2013.

Dharamshala Stadium IPL Records

When it comes to the world’s most important T20 league (IPL), Warner (108), Dhawan (95), Rohit Sharma (93), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (60), and David Miller (50) have been the best batters at this venue among active cricketers.

Among active players, Chawla (13), Sandeep Sharma (5), Mishra (4), and Umesh Yadav (3) have taken the most IPL wickets at this venue.

Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals Pitch Report

The pitch at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala is expected to offer a neutral track for the game with a bit of help for everyone. The seamers will be able to extract some sideways movement with the new ball, while the batters need to be a bit patient in the powerplay. The average first innings score at the venue is 160-175.

Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals Weather Forecast

The conditions in Dharamshala on Wednesday will be ideal for a game of cricket, with the temperature expected to be in the 30s.

Pitch and conditions

In contrast to all the other venues in the IPL, the weather is expected to be cool, considering Dharamsala's altitude of 1457 meters above sea level.

Impact Player strategy

Punjab Kings

Kings started with only three overseas players in their previous game against Capitals, and brought in Australian quick Nathan Ellis for Prabhsimran Singh when bowling second. If they bowl first this time, then Prabhsimran Singh is likely to come in for the chase.

Probable XII: 1 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 3 Liam Livingstone, 4 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 5 Sam Curran, 6 Harpreet Brar, 7 M Shahrukh Khan, 8 Sikandar Raza, 9 Rishi Dhawan, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Arshdeep Singh, 12 Nathan Ellis

Delhi Capitals

Manish Pandey had replaced Khaleel Ahmed during Capitals' run chase against Kings in their previous fixture.

Probable XII: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Phil Salt (wk), 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 Axar Patel, 6 Manish Pandey, 7 Aman Hakim Khan, 8 Praveen Dubey, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mukesh Kumar, 11 Ishant Sharma, 12 Khaleel Ahmed

Stats that matter

• 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.
• Liam Livingstone, in contrast, has a poor record against Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Ishant Sharma. He's been dismissed once in three deliveries by both Kuldeep and Axar, and Ishant has got him twice in 30 balls.
• The last time the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala hosted an IPL game was back in 2013. Former Pakistan allrounder Azhar Mahmood was the Player of the Match, while Rishi Dhawan, who was representing Mumbai Indians in that fixture, will be playing for Kings on Wednesday.

Gujarat Titans became the first team to qualify for the playoffs of IPL 2023 but three spots are still up for grabs and there is an intense race among five teams to progress to the next stage. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals, who became the first team to bow out of the race, now have an opportunity to play party-poopers in their last two matches.

DC's first destination is Dharamsala, which will become the 12th venue to host an IPL game this season and is the home base of Punjab Kings for their last two matches. The Kings, who are currently placed eighth on the points table with 12 points, have the opportunity to finish with 16 and move on to the next round, which they have been unable to do since finishing as runners-up in 2014, ending up in the sixth spot in the last four seasons.

The Kings have blown hot and cold throughout the tournament after starting with two successive wins. But they will enter the game against DC with a lot of confidence, having beaten the same side by 31 runs a few days back. Prabhsimran Singh's century and Harpreet Brar's four wicket-haul were the chief reasons for Punjab's win but they'll also expect the seasoned stars in their line-up to step up at a crucial juncture in this IPL.

For DC, who have been let down by the Indian batters, the onus will again be on the overseas players to do all the heavy lifting. With the Dharamsala pitch unlikely to offer a spin challenge for the batters, DC can breathe easy after struggling on sluggish wickets in their last two games.

BATTERS TO WATCH(recent stats)

Prabhsimran Singh,  PBKS

10 M • 251 Runs • 25.10 Avg • 146.78 SR

Shikhar Dhawan,  PBKS

7 M • 230 Runs • 38.33 Avg • 141.10 SR

David Warner,  DC

10 M • 291 Runs • 29.10 Avg • 130.49 SR

Axar Patel,  DC

10 M • 216 Runs • 30.85 Avg • 133.33 SR

BOWLERS TO WATCH(recent stats)

Arshdeep Singh,  PBKS

10 M • 11 Wkts • 9.67 Econ • 20.63 SR

Harpreet Brar,  PBKS

9 M • 9 Wkts • 7.41 Econ • 14.11 SR

Mitchell Marsh,  DC

7 M • 11 Wkts • 8.58 Econ • 9.27 SR

Axar Patel,  DC

10 M • 9 Wkts • 6.51 Econ • 24.66 SR

Form guide -  (Last five completed matches, most recent first)

Punjab Kings WLLWL

Delhi Capitals LLWWL

Team news

While Punjab have no known fitness issues, Delhi Capitals are still without Anrich Nortje, who had returned to South Africa for personal reasons.

PBKS vs DC HEAD-TO-HEAD IN IPL

Matches played: 30

Delhi Capitals won: 15

Punjab Kings won: 16

Last result: PBKS won by 31 runs (May, 2023)

Teams watch

Punjab Kings

Kagiso Rabada last featured for the Kings on 30th April and has missed three matches since. Wasim Jaffer, the batting coach, said his exclusion had to do with Nathan Ellis's death bowling skills but the South African pacer is a likely contender for this game considering the pacy nature of the Dharamsala wickets. He bowled an extended spell during the practice session on the eve of the game, bowling with a lot of steam and even troubled Shikhar Dhawan who was otherwise sending the ball to the roof quite regularly.

Tactics & match-ups: Rabada has dismissed David Warner thrice in the IPL and could be an effective option early on for PBKS, although the left-handed batter has struck 89 runs off 51 deliveries against the pacer.

Probable XII: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada.

Delhi Capitals

Like Dhawan, Warner too spent some quality time in the nets as he cleared the ropes often, as did Rovman Powell who treated pace and spin equally harshly. Although he hasn't been picked to play for more than a month now, Powell could find a place in the team, possibly in place of Rilee Rossouw. It could serve DC well if they consider the pace of Anrich Nortje at the expense of an overseas batter. But in case of early wickets, it might leave them at the mercy of the Indian batters who, barring Axar Patel, have averaged under 14 collectively.

Tactics & match-ups: Ishant Sharma could be an effective match-up against Dhawan and Liam Livingstone, having dismissed them twice each and also having a good economy rate against them.

Probable XII: David Warner (c), Philip Salt (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Rovman Powell/Anrich Nortje, Aman Hakim Khan, Axar Patel, Praveen Dubey, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Manish Pandey.