IPL 2021 Match 11: Delhi and Punjab seek consistency

Tags: Indian T20 League 2021, Delhi XI vs Punjab XI, 11th Match at Mumbai, Apr 18, 2021, Punjab XI, Delhi XI

Published on: Apr 18, 2021

Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs

Delhi Capitals (DC) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) will meet in the 11th match of IPL 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. The game will be part of the season’s first double-header. Both DC and PBKS are sailing in a similar boat. Delhi got off their IPL 2021 campaign against Chennai Super Kings on a impressive note, defeating the latter by seven wickets. They failed to get past the line against Rajasthan Royals though, losing a close game.

Punjab narrowly escaped in their first match as they held Rajasthan Royals despite a sublime Sanju Samson century. In the game against CSK though, they were completely derailed and could not stand up to some excellent swing bowling from Deepak Chahar. Both sides would be seeking consistency going into their third game of the season.

In the batting Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan excelled in the first match but perished cheaply in the second. They would be keen to get among the runs again. Ajinkya Rahane was outfoxed by Jaydev Unadkat against RR while Marcus Stoinis has registered two failures in a row with the bat. This is an area DC will have to look at. They will be pleased with the form of skipper Rishabh Pant, who has looked in sublime touch.

As for their bowling, the threatening pair of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje look set to be reunited as the latter’s COVID-19 report confusion has been settled. With Nortje returning, the struggling Tom Curran looks set to be dropped. Avesh Khan and Chris Woakes were impressive with the ball against RR even in defeat.

Punjab excelled with the bat against RR as KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda ran riot. But the same batting line-up came a cropper against Deepak Chahar, who ran through the top and middle order. Punjab would like to put the disaster behind them and start afresh. They would be buoyed by the batting of Shahrukh Khan, who gave a good account of himself against CSK.

There was really not much the bowlers could have done with little to defend against CSK. Mohammed Shami though was impressive with a couple of wickets. With both Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith failing to make an impact, Punjab may bring back the experience of Chris Jordan.

Predicted XIs

DC: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (C & WK), Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan

PBKS: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (C & WK), Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan/Riley Meredith, Arshdeep Singh

--Renin Wilben Albert

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