With fate hanging by a thread, Punjab run into bruised Delhi

The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League has possibly been one of the most closely fought tournaments in the recent past, with pretty much all the ten teams in contention for a place in the playoffs with over a dozen games to play. 

While you may argue that Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders are all but out of the competition, the two sides are still mathematically alive but need to win all their remaining fixtures, along with some help from other teams in their bid for a miracle. 

David Warner and his side endured a dismal start to the season and lost their first five games that derailed their campaign, their opposition in the upcoming clash, Punjab Kings are in the midst of a stop-start tournament. 

Despite starting their campaign with two wins, Shikhar Dhawan-led outfit are in the eighth position in the points table with 10 points, and a loss against the Capitals will draw curtains to their campaign. 

With fate hanging by a thread for the two sides and more so for the Kings, here are some of the critical factors that could decide the outcome of this northern derby. 

Things to watch out for

Can Sam Curran find his mojo?

In the mini-auction ahead of this season, Punjab broke the bank, literally for acquiring the services of Sam Curran for INR 18.5 Crore to lend balance to their playing XI. 

While a lot was expected of the all-rounder after his heroics in the T20 World Cup that helped England clinch the coveted trophy, he has failed to translate those performances for the Kings. 

The 24-year-old has scored 194 runs in 10 innings at an average of 24.5 and a strike rate of 137.1 to give the team some impetus down the order. However, his performance with the ball has been rather disappointing, to say the least. 

The left-arm seamer was touted to spearhead the bowling attack along with Arshdeep Singh but has struggled to find his rhythm thus far in the competition. 

In the 11 innings, Curran has bowled 37.5 overs and scalped seven wickets at an economy rate of 10.3 runs per over, which is the worst among bowlers this edition with a minimum of 30 overs. 

The youngster was smashed all around the park by Andre Russell in the penultimate over for 20 runs in the last game which tilted the game in favour of the Knight Riders and got them inches closer to the target. 

With a wealth of international experience under his belt, Punjab would hope for their premier all-rounder to come back into his bowling form as they battle for survival in this high-voltage clash.

Delhi's batting muddle

One of the significant reasons for Delhi's dismal outing this season has been the lack of runs from the top order and their inability to find an ideal playing XI, with most of the Indian batters struggling for runs in the competition. 

In the absence of Rishabh Pant, the onus of the side relied heavily on Prithvi Shaw, especially after his consistent performances for Mumbai in the domestic circuit. 

However, the 23-year-old has found it tough to put bat to ball in the six innings he has featured and managed only 47 runs at an average of 7.83. The Head Coach of the side, Ricky Ponting, minced no words in stating that the young Indian prodigy is indeed dropped owing to lack of runs. 

"The fact that Prithvi is not playing is an indication that he did not perform as we wanted him to," said the Aussie skipper in a press conference. 

Well, Prithvi is not the only one struggling for runs for the Delhi outfit, as they have collectively failed as a batting unit to stitch partnerships. In the 11 innings, Delhi have an average runs per wicket ratio of 20, which is the worst among all the teams in the competition. 

There ain't any doubt that the onus of the side will rely on David Warner and Phil Salt to shoulder the responsibility of the batting unit. However, the duo will need some support from the young Indian batters to salvage some pride in the last three encounters.

Pitch & conditions

The wicket at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi is known to assist the pacers with the average first-innings score around the 162-run mark, and the average winning total is around 197 runs. 

Overall in the ten innings played thus far, the fast bowlers have scalped 35 out of the 58 wickets, which is 60.3 percent of the wickets compared to 23 by the tweakers, which is approximately 39.7 percent. 

In the five matches, the team that has chased down the target has won four games, with Sunrisers Hyderabad being the only team to defend 198 runs successfully at this venue. 

Tactical nous

> In T20s since 2020, Liam Livingstone has been dismissed on six occasions in 12 innings and has an average of 7.7 against left-arm wrist spinners, the worst for him against a bowling type. 

With Kuldeep Yadav in the opposition ranks, expect David Warner to bring on his ace spinner as soon as Livingstone walks into bat. 

> While Kagiso Rabada has featured in only four games for Punjab, the team management can opt to bring in the South African quick to strengthen the bowling department in place of Nathan Ellis. 

The 27-year-old is an ideal match-up for David Warner and has dismissed the southpaw on five occasions in T20s, the second-most by a bowler in the shortest format. 

Team combination

Despite a comprehensive defeat against Chennai Super Kings, Delhi might stick with Lalit Yadav in the playing XI, especially against the left-handed heavy batting unit of Punjab Kings. 

Delhi Capitals: David Warner (Captain), Philip Salt (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Rilee Rossouw, Axar Patel, Aman Hakim Khan, Ripal Patel, Lalit Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma

Punjab would continue to back the same set of players to get the job done despite going down to the Knight Riders. Ellis/Rabada will slot in the team as an impact substitute, depending on the toss. 

Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh