Delhi Capitals
Punjab Kings
We are now moving into the last phase of the Indian Premier League where all the teams have only 3-4 matches left and we still don’t have the teams that will qualify for the playoffs. Such is the stature and quality of this league that it is so competitive and eye-pleasing. Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings will compete against each other on Saturday 13th May 2023 in the Arun Jaitley Stadium in what is going to be an elimination match for both teams.
The Delhi Capitals did not start the season well, as they lost their first five matches of the season but made a comeback and won four of their next five matches to still be in contention to qualify for the playoffs. The Delhi franchise still has a lot of hard work to do to qualify for the final stage of the IPL and have a shot at winning the trophy for the first time.
The Punjab Kings have been on a roller-coaster ride in their journey in the 2023 season of the IPL till now. They have lost more matches than they have won but they still have a chance to correct that. If Punjab Kings still want to have any chance of going into the playoffs, they would require their senior players to step up as they have been out of colour in the past few matches. The top bookmakers in India have fantastic IPL odds with them
Delhi CapitalsPunjab KingsAxar Patel has been Delhi’s most valuable player this season, showing everyone why he is one of the best all-rounders in international cricket right now. The bowling attack has also played decently, but their batting department is where the problem lies. They have now changed their strategy to have all four overseas players as batters, let us see how far it takes them.
Mukesh Kumar is likely to replace Lalit Yadav in the team.
Predicted Lineup: David Warner (c), Phil Salt (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Rilee Rossouw, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed.
Punjab’s team has been dependent a lot on their experienced players, as the young and uncapped players have failed to come to the party for them. Shikhar Dhawan, their captain, has batted brilliantly in the tournament but needs to continue his form to make his team reach the playoffs. He would require support from senior players like Arshdeep Singh, Sam Curran, etc.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa might make way for Sikandar Raza in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Sikandar Raza, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Sam Curran, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis.
Both teams find themselves in a precarious situation where winning is the only option for them to survive in the tournament, and hence the match becomes a virtual eliminator. We predict the Delhi Capitals team to win this match because of the better team form and the home advantage as well.
