IPL 2023 MATCH PREVIEW: DC v PBKS

Glad that I got a wkt off the 1st ball otherwise I would have never completed my quota of 4 overs. These were Axar Patel’s exact words after the match against CSK. This exactly sumps up DC’s campaign this year. Underutilisation of resources is one of the most unsettling aspects of DC’s strategy this season.

DC's season has been disappointing, having suffered five consecutive losses. Nevertheless, their recent unexpected wins against SRH and GT showcase their potential, and with better strategic choices, they could have secured more than eight points. To describe their season, the word "dismal" would not be an overstatement.
David Warner and Mitchell Marsh have been the major disappointments for their team. Warner's performance this season has been his poorest in terms of strike rate, having managed to hit a handful of sixes so far. Marsh, who has been outstanding in white ball cricket over the past two years and delivered an impressive performance in the BBL and ODI series against India not long ago, has failed to live up to expectations. One game he decided to step up he was on the receiving end in spite of a stupendous performance with both bat and the ball. Yuvraj Singh ( twice) is the only other cricketer to end up on the losing side after scoring 50 and scalping 4 wkts in the same match.
Despite having the game under their control against SRH, the management of Delhi made some questionable decisions by sending Sarfaraz and Priyam Garg ahead of Axar, who has been one of the best batters for the team and has been consistently striking the ball well in the lower order. Additionally, the inclusion of Priyam Garg seemed illogical when the team already had the talented Yash Dhull in their ranks.
Several such decisions made by Delhi's management this season have been not only strange but also lacking any logical reasoning. As a result, the team now finds themselves in a difficult situation, needing to win all their remaining matches to stay in the race for the playoffs. Unfortunately, this task seems increasingly improbable for them.

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The presence of top-performing Indian players such as Jitesh Sharma, who recorded 260 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 160, and PrabhSimran Singh, who scored 231 runs with a strike rate of 151, typically bodes well for a team's performance in a tournament. However, Punjab's campaign has been less than satisfactory, with 5 wins and 5 losses from 10 games, leaving them in the 7th spot on the leaderboard. In addition to that they had good contributions from Atharva Taide and ShahRukh Khan in a few games.

Punjab can finally let out a sigh of relief as they no longer have any games scheduled at Mohali, where they gave up 257 runs to LSG and allowed MI to chase down 215 in their previous match. The team has had a tough time as they have conceded 200 or more runs in four consecutive games. One of the most significant disappointments in the death overs has been Sam Curran, who was outstanding in his performances from his comeback in September against Pakistan till the T20 World Cup, where he took approximately 25 wickets and displayed remarkable accuracy at the death. However, he has been unable to reproduce his form for the men in red.

Probable Playing XIs

Delhi Capitals

David Warner, Phil Salt, Mitchell Marsh, Rilee Rossouw, Manish Pandey, Ripal Patel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma

Punjab Kings

Shikhar Dhawan, Prabhsmiran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

Venue

Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

-Average Total batting 1st: 164.7
-Average 1st innings winning total: 181.2
-Highest total: 231/2 - DC vs PBKS, 2011
-Lowest total: 83/10 - DC v CSK, 2013
-Total Match Played: 82
-Batting First Won: 35
-Batting Second Won: 46

Head to Head

Overall: 15-15

Batting 1st: PBKS leads by 5-4

Batting 2nd: DC leads by 11-10

Last 5 matches: DC leads by 4-1

Most Runs:

Mayank Agarwal - 450

Shikhar Dhawan - 398

Most wkts:

Axar Patel - 18

Sandeep Sharma - 14

Standings

Delhi: 10th

Punjab: 8th

Team Form

Delhi: L L L L L W W L W W L

Punjab: W W L L W L W W L L

Match Ups (IPL)

Warner vs Chahar: 61 off 34

Warner v Arshdeep: 48 off 32

Shikhar v Kuldeep: 34 off 37, 2 out

Shikhar v Ishnat: 30 off 28, 1 out

Manish v Curran: 29 off 22

Warner v Curram: 26 off 33, 1 out

Shikhar v Khaleel: 22 off 23, 1 out

Shahrukh v Khaleel: 4 off 8, 2 out

Form Update ( last 5 innings )

Key Players and Fantasy Picks

David Warner

In total, Warner has scored 400+ runs seven consecutive years, and last year he managed 450+ runs at an SR of 150+. But since his comeback from injury in February, he has played just one ODI, and that was obvious from game 1, when he scored a 50, a problem that continued throughout the series. He has been among runs but his SR is nowhere near to the standards he has set. So far he has managed to hit only handful of sixes in the tournament after scoring 300+ runs . Irrespective of his scoring rate, Warner is a bank and should be a blind pick in any Fantasy XI

Axar Patel:

His batting has been a revelation this year in all 3 formats. Bailed India and his franchise out number of times from crunch situations. In addition to that, he has been top of the fantasy points in multiple games with his all round performance.

Mitchell Marsh:

Since 2021, Marsh had astonishing nos in white ball cricket, especially in t20is where he was Australia’s top scorer prior to the WC and ended up being the MoM in the final. He continued his form in the BBL this year with scoring 347 runs at an SR of 142 and scored around 200 runs against Ind in ODI series at a SR of 110. But he failed to replicate it in the IPL so far and finally came good in the last few games with Performances like 50 and a 4 wkt haul against SRH and an all round performance against RCB.

Liam Livingstone

After missing the 1st half of the season, Punjab have been strengthened by the addition of Liam. He had over 400 runs last year at an astonishing SR of 170+
Moreover, he is a sort of all-rounder who can bowl both leg spin and off spin.He has made immediate impact by playing a match changing innings against CSK and an 80 odd against Mumbai

Sikandar Raza
He created history by becoming Zim’s 1st player to win MoM award in the IPL against LSG and took PBKS over the line against CSK in their den. He is expected to replace Bhanuka in the 11

Fantasy XI