With both the teams coming off a well-deserved win, the stakes will be high when Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) take on Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 13th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday at Mohali.
The first north India derby of the season will witness some fine talents with the likes of Prithi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kagiso Rabada, etc all raring to give their best for the respective teams.
With Rabada and Shaw displaying exemplary skills during their Super Over victory against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), DC skipper Shreyas Iyer will be high on confidence.
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It will be interesting to see how the Delhi pacer counters the hard-hitting KXIP batsmen.
Rabada helped Delhi defend the lowest total (10) in a Super Over in the IPL history after the scores were tied at 185 in the allotted 20 overs each.
The focus will now be on how the South African pacer would fare against the likes of hard-hitting Chris Gayle, Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and David Miller.
Both sides are riding high on confidence having won their respective matches on Saturday. In fact, both the teams' opening batsmen were the architect of their victory.
While Delhi's Shaw (55-ball 99) almost took the team home against KKR, Rahul (57-ball 71) finished the job for Punjab against Mumbai Indians.
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Playing at home, Rahul, who had failed in his first two matches, played a well-constructed innings while Gayle (40) and Agarwal (43) also chipped in with crucial runs to help Punjab comfortably chase down the 177-run target, set by Mumbai Indians.
The 'Universe Boss' Gayle was his usual self and batted in the manner only he can as 36 of his 40-run knock came in boundaries and sixes.
Rahul has the ability to steady the innings and play sheet anchor's role and Gayle can puncture opposition camp's plans to control the run flow, something that Delhi would be worried about.
Punjab's bowling is spearheaded by Mohammed Shami and with other key players such as Andrew Tye and Hardus Viljoen in their ranks, it may not be easy for the visiting batsmen.
Moreover, the Ravichandran Ashwin-led KXIP would also have the advantage of playing at home and they will look to exploit familiar conditions once again.
DC though will be desperate to get the momentum going after winning a close game.
Chasing 186 to win against KKR, DC were set up nicely by Shaw but they failed to score six runs from the last over, taking the match to Super Over.
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However, Rabada's sensational yorkers in all six balls restricted KKR to just seven runs while chasing 11. Delhi will be hoping not to let that advantage slip.
Besides Shaw, DC also have the likes of Pant, who played a superb knock of 78 to pile up a mammoth 213 against Mumbai Indians in the first match, Shikhar Dhawan, captain Shreyas Iyer and Colin Ingram. They would expect their batsmen come out all guns blazing against Punjab on Sunday.
The bowling department comprising Kiwi speedster Trent Bolt, Ishant Sharma and Axar Patel besides Rabada, is also capable of causing damage to the opposition.
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Delhi would be hoping to put up an all-round performance against Punjab, who have shown they are not an easy side to beat.
Teams (from):
Kings XI Punjab: Ravichandran Ashwin (capt), Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Agrawal, Karun Nair, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and David Miller, Sam Curran, Varun Chakaravarthy, Nicholas Pooran, Moises Henriques, Hardus Viljoen, Darshan Nalkande, Sarfaraz Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Agnivesh Ayachi, Harpreet Brar, Murugan Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Mandeep Singh, Simran Singh.
Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Colin Munro, Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Hanuma Vihari, Colin Ingram, Manjot Kalra, Chris Morris, Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul, Axar Patel, Jalaj Saxena, Rahul Tewatia, Rishabh Pant, Ankush Bains, Sandeep Lamichhane, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Trent Boult, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Nathu Singh and Bandaru Ayyappa.
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(With Agency inputs)
