Premier rivals Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals come face to face in match 38 of IPL 2020 in Dubai on Tuesday (October 20). Both teams come into this game with wins under their belt in the last game. The last time both these met was just in the second match of the season and gave us a match to remember.
Delhi beat Punjab in the Super Over to notch up their first win of the season. Since then, however, the season has gone in opposite directions for the two teams. While one team has made a winning habit, the other has made the habit of leaving it a bit too late to get the job done.
Kings XI Punjab got out of jail twice in the last two matches, winning it at the fag end. Going forward every game is a must-win for the side and KXIP skipper KL Rahul said that he very well knows what to do in this crunch time. He further said that his teammates are also very aware of their roles and responsibilities going forward as well. Like every team, KXIP is also fine-tuning their squad and identifying personnel who can win them games against the various oppositions.
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Two things that the side needs to work on going forward is their death bowling and their habit of leaving it too late going for the win. The likes of Chris Jordan and Mohammed Shami now will have to take more responsibility at the death with the ball and prevent the opposition from scoring heavily against them in the final overs. Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin are doing a good job of damage control in the middle overs, which in turn is giving them wickets as well.
Glenn Maxwell – A Concern For Kings XI Punjab
With the bat, Glenn Maxwell needs to find form. Barring Maxwell, the rest of the top six looks in the knick. Also with Gayle back in the line-up, the power-hitting is back as well. Against Delhi, if they can correct these mistakes, they will be on the winning side by the end of the game, without going into another Super Over.
Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, have played almost flawless cricket in the tournament so far. In the games that they have won, they have completely outplayed the position. However, in the games that they have lost, Delhi did not play well. Importantly, they have lost both their games in Abu Dhabi.
However, they are yet to be beaten in Dubai, where they play Punjab next. They have won four out of four in Dubai and looked the better team at the venue. They are far more familiar with the ground conditions, which might work to their advantage against Kings XI Punjab.
Head to Head
In the 25 games between the two sides, Punjab has won 24 times, while Delhi 11. However, Delhi got the better of Punjab when the two sides met in the first leg in Dubai at the start of the season.
Pitch & Weather Conditions
Evenings have started getting a bit more pleasant in Dubai. Meanwhile, the pitches have started getting slower and lower in the second half of the league stage. With minimal dew in the games at the back end of the season, toss will play a big role in the result of the games. Both teams would look to bat first after winning the toss.
Team News
Though Rishabh Pant trained before Delhi’s last game against Chennai, he was not a part of the playing XI. Doubts over his participation still remain in this game as well. The rest of the squad will remain the same for Delhi.
Having beaten, Mumbai in one of their previous match, though it was a Super Over win, Kings XI Punjab would not like to break the winning combination.
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Squads
Delhi Capitals
Shreyas Iyer (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Lamichhane, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Harshal Patel, Alex Carey, Avesh Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Daniel Sams, Lalit Yadav, Keemo Paul, Pravin Dubey
Kings XI Punjab
Lokesh Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Glenn Maxwell, Krishnappa Gowtham, Chris Jordan, Sheldon Cottrell, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Mandeep Singh, James Neesham, Jagadeesha Suchith, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Murugan Ashwin, Hardus Viljoen, Ishan Porel, Tajinder Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Arshdeep Singh, Simran Singh, Harpreet Brar
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