The 29th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will be played between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The Kings registered a dominating win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) owing to the exploits of KL Rahul and Harpreet Brar, and that win took them closer to the elusive top-four spots. However, there are some concerns in the squad, especially with Nicholas Pooran’s form in the middle-order.
They do have they have got a resourceful squad in place and with Mayank Agarwal and Jhye Richardson on the bench, Punjab will fancy their chances of a win in this fixture. However, DC is one of the teams to beat in IPL 2021 so far. With two of the highest run-getters in Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw leading the way, the Delhi Capitals have pulled off five wins out of their seven games so far. Axar Patel has also been bowling some miserly spells, despite Kagiso Rabada’s shortcomings in the death overs.
ALSO READ: Match 29 (PBKS vs DC) – Fantasy And Probable XI Predictions
However, DC will be fancying their chances of winning the game, given the form that their middle-order is in. Although both sides look evenly matched on paper, the last time these sides met in the IPL 2021, Dhawan and Shaw pulled off a win without losing a wicket. With revenge on their minds, KL Rahul and co. will look to get one over Delhi, paving the way for an absolute thriller to kickstart the second half of IPL 2021 this Sunday.
As DC and KKR face-off on Thursday, Here are 3 player battles to watch out for.
#3 KL Rahul vs Avesh Khan
The PBKS skipper, KL Rahul is well aware of the difficulties of his team and if the team has to come back, then they will have to play better. So far, he has scored 331 runs in 7 innings, but while the other batsmen of the team are not doing anything special, then the expectations for Rahul increases further.
ALSO READ: Kieron Pollard Snatched An Unbelievable Win For MI Over CSK
However, he will be facing the likes of the young right-arm fast bowler, Avesh Khan, who can be termed as the discovery of this season as he has picked 13 wickets in 7 matches. Avesh has been conceding runs at an average of less than 8. These two domestic cricketers of India have not played each other in T20 yet, but this time it will be a thrilling contest.
#2 Deepak Hooda vs Axar Patel
Right-handed batsman Deepak Hooda hasn’t been doing well with the bat barring the first game of the season, but he has again fired an in few games for the Punjab ings (KKR). His batting number is the biggest difficulty as the team wants to score runs in the slog overs. However, in the middle overs, Hooda will be facing the left-arm orthodox bowler, Axar Patel. However, they haven’t faced each other in 2019 in T20s.
#1 Prithvi Shaw vs Mohammed Shami
They are both the stars of India’s domestic cricket, both of which have earned a name for themselves after performances in U-19 cricket. The young protege, Prithvi Shaw is in amazing form this season and has scored 187 runs in 6 matches at a phenomenal strike rate of 165+. The fiery pacer, Mohammed Shami has taken 8 wickets in 7 matches but he has conceded runs at an economy rate of just 7. It will be an interesting battler between the two.
