We are now in the end game.
Yes, it is what it is. We are into the final stages of the group stages of this season’s IPL. And what it means is that every game has a ripple effect on the permutations and combinations of every team and their possibilities of qualifying. And this is where the beauty of the IPL lies. Take the previous game for example – when Gujarat Titans lost to Rajasthan Royals it not only meant that Lucknow now will have to win their next game to qualify and that they lost 2 crucial points, but it also ended the hopes of KKR and SRH of qualifying further.
Yes, one team lost but two other teams got out and we still have 7 to 8 games to be played in the group stages. This is why this tournament is the best in the world. And now there is another exciting encounter that awaits us all. It’s a clash between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings and guess what?
It’s another do or die game between these sides. Both teams have a chance of qualifying if they win all their remaining games. But speaking mathematically and logically only one will win this one right?
So now we have two teams who have an amazing and very explosive batting lineup who is in some serious form with some very good death bowlers on either side taking on each other in a must-win game for both!
Does it get better than this?
Not even in the multiverse of madness!
And what’s funnier is that none of these sides has won two games back to back so far in the 12 games they have played. But after this game even that is going to change as one of these teams will finally make it two wins in a row. Both teams are coming in this game on the back of a good win and they will be looking to carry that momentum and grind it out in a must-win game.
For Delhi, M Marsh has been in red hot form and he looks in a dangerous mood. David Warner has been a shining star for them ever since he joined after the series against Pakistan. Their bowling however might need to find a little more answers or maybe ask a few more questions from the opposition batsmen.
Punjab on the other hand is looking more set. With Bairstow finding his mojo back, Punjab’s batting order looks formidable and set at the moment. Livingstone has been their player of the season with the number of runs he has scored and at the pace at which he has scored them. With a strike rate of 180, he has already scored 385 runs in 12 games including 27 fours and 29 sixes. Punjab’s bowling lineup also looks very formidable at the moment.
We have a game in our hands and this should be a blockbuster.
PBKS vs DC Playing Eleven (Probable)
Punjab Kings
Probable XI: Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Raajpaksa, Liam Livingstone, Mayank Agarwal (C), Jitesh Sharma (wk, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Ashdeep Singh
Delhi Capitals
Probable XI: Srikar Bharat/Mandeep Singh, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (C,WK), Lalit Yadav, Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Anrich Nortje
