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.
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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.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
With such a short turnaround, Mayank Agarwal will be expected to miss another game and Nicholas Pooran will be expected to be replaced by Dawid Malan. With Riley Meredith, Jhye Richardson might get another chance. The tall Harpreet could continue to give the required ammunition for PBKS in Ahmedabad. PBKS will be hoping that the fast bowlers will be getting some moment early on to put breaks on Shaw and Dhawan.
Possible XI: KL Rahul (c, wk), Prabhsimran Singh/Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran/Dawid Malan, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Chris Jordan, Riley Meredith/Jhye Richardson, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami.
Delhi Capitals (DC)
With Lalit Yadav making an impact against KKR, Amit Mishra will be sitting down for another game due to the shoulder niggle. Apart from the spinners, Avesh Khan has been one of DC’s cornerstones in the slog overs. Just like any other fast bowler, he has been nailing the yorker more often than not. It will also be an interesting battle to see how DC uses Axar Patel in front on Chris Gayle.
Possible XI: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant (c,wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav/Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan.
Fantasy Suggestion #1:
KL Rahul (c), Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Chris Gayle, Steve Smith (vc), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Kagiso Rabada, and Ravi Bishnoi
Fantasy Suggestion #2:
KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Chris Gayle (vc), Steve Smith (c), Deepak Hooda, Lalit Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Kagiso Rabada, and Harpreet Brar
