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IPL 2021 | DC vs PBKS: Wrecked sides seek redemption in another bout between young Indian captains

Mayank Kumar

The Sunday night will offer a riveting contest between two sides hurting after a disastrous loss in their last game. The Delhi Capitals were submerged by poor death bowling while the Punjab Kings batsmen were blown up by a swinging Deepak Chahar in Mumbai.

KL Rahul-led Kings will be more hurtful of their debacle with the bat against the Sunrisers as they could never get back in the game and the Super Kings defeated them comprehensively. 

On the other hand, the Delhi Capitals fought admirably with the ball and put the Rajasthan Royals under serious pressure before the Proteas duo David Miller and Chris Morris took the game away from them.

But, the underlying issue that plagued the Capitals in their last game was their batting alone and hence when KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant walk down the pitch at the Wankhede Stadium tomorrow, they will look back towards their respective units with a hope that they will turn up leaving behind the debacle in the last game.

The fearsome duo of Rabada-Nortje is back

Misfortune of an apparent false Covid-19 test report delayed the return of South African pacer Anrich Nortje who along with his countryman was set to walk back in the XI.

Both him and Rabada were superb throughout the tournament lasts season in the UAE and helped the Capitals’ campaign that ended only in the finals. 










Both Rabada and Nortje were was used as enforcers with the new ball last year before their role separating and Rabada was assigned the task of bowling at the death while Nortje was used as an enforced in the middle phase of the game.

Rishabh Pant’s choices

Rishabh Pant would be delighted with the return of Nortje in the camp, but it will equally test his leadership on the choices he will make just two days old into his captaincy in the IPL.

In the last game, he dropped Shimron Hetmyer to play Kagiso Rabada and although Lalit Yadav arrested a collapse in the middle order, it could not match the value the West Indian left-hander could have brought with him.

Hetmyer’s exclusion made the batting look a lot thinner with Chris Woakes and Tom Curran batting at seven, eighth position.


Pant took a big punt on Tom Curran in order to maintain an incisive bowling attack. The move almost paid off well but another game for Curran seems unlikely with the return of Nortje.

The left handed dasher also made a tactical blunder on the field in the last game by not bowling out R Ashwin for his complete quota of four overs. Coach Ricky Ponting conceded it was a mistake on the team’s tactical part. 

The captain who can’t do anything wrong this season with the bat will have to bring the best of his ideas to the forefront if the Capitals have to go a long way in this edition.

Kings blowing hot and cold

The Punjab Kings started their campaign on a dominating note with the likes of Deepak Hooda and the skipper Rahul himself going all guns blazing against the Royals.

They also held their nerves to defend the target in the face of a brutal and magnificent counter-attacking innings from Sanju Samson.

But, playing true to their legacy, Punjab imploded just in the very next game and were on the brink of a sub-hundred score against the Super Kings.

Punjab were unlucky with one of the opener Mayank Agarwal getting an unplayable delivery from Deepak Chahar while Rahul paying the price of a crime Chris Gayle committed of risking a single against Ravindra Jadeja.

The challenge will not be any simpler against the Capitals, and the top-heavy Kings will have to get their act together against the bowling attack comprised of Rabada, Nortje and Ravichandran Ashwin.

















The Kings have employed the tactics of going in with a thin batting line up with Jhye Richardson batting as high as number seven—a position he has never batted in his career. The move boomeranged on them in the last game where the lack of depth in batting was exposed brutally by the Super Kings.

Delhi Capitals vs Punjab Kings: Match Details

Match Number-11

Date and Time: April 18, 07:30 pm IST, 02: 00 pm GMT

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Broadcast and Live Stream: Star Sports and Hotstar

Pitch and weather

The pitches in the last two games have defied all the recent history of high-scoring games at the Wankhede Stadium.

Both the last two games of these sides turned out to be low-scoring affairs, however, a proper contest between bat and ball would not be a matter of concerns for both the fans and the administrators.

There was swing on offer for the new ball bowlers, especially at the start of the game between 7.30 PM to 8:00 PM period while as the ball got older, the surface started playing tricks and the bowler’s deception made batsmen paying for their mistakes of committing to strokes very early.

The pitch in the game between the Capitals and the Kings is likely to be the same and so is the overhead conditions that aid swing bowling at the start.

Both the sides have an impressive stock of pace bowlers to extract the best out of the surface and the air, and also quality batsmen in the top order to make it a contest to watch out for from the outset.

Team News

Delhi Capitals

The Capitals will be rejoicing having Nortje back in the camp and most likely they will play both him and Rabada to get the best out of conditions in Mumbai. The move however will bring curtains to Tom Curran’s chances who was guilty of allowing Chris Morris to take the game away from the Capitals.

However, the team management will be debating on who among the two of Shimron Hetmyer and Chris Woakes should be the fourth overseas player in the playing XI.

Strongest XI

Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan

Punjab Kings

The Punjab Kings need to relook their strategy of going in with specialists as it leaves them lacking in batting options in games where they have to endure collapse.

Jhye Richardson should not be batting at the number seven position and they will have to make a choice on playing one of Riley Meredith or Jhye Richardson to bring someone like Moises Henriques who can bring a lot of balance in the playing XI.

Strongest XI

KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Jhye Richardson, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

DC vs PBKS: Dream XI fantasy team

Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Chris Woakes, Marcus Stoinis, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Kagiso Rabada, Jhye Richardson

Captain: KL Rahul

Vice-captain: Rishabh Pant

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IPL 2021 | Daniel Sams joins RCB bio-bubble after testing negative for Covid-19

Left-arm fast bowler Daniel Sams is out of the quarantine and has joined the RCB bio-bubble, the franchise confirmed on Saturday ahead of their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad which is slated to take place on Sunday in Chennai. “Daniel Sams is out of quarantine and has joined the RCB bio-bubble today with two consecutive negative reports for COVID-19,” RCB tweeted. The RCB medical team had been in constant touch with Sams and had declared him fit to join the team. “RCB medical team was in constant touch with Sams and has declared him fit to join the team after adhering to all the BCCI protocols,” the tweet further read. Sams was one of the two players apart from Harshal Patel who had been traded from Delhi Capitals earlier before the mini auctions that took place in February in Chennai. The left-arm pacer had tested positive for COVID-19. Sams had arrived in India on April 3 and had a negative report for the disease but the test conducted on April 7 came out to be positive. "His report from the second test on 7th April came positive. Sams is currently asymptomatic and he is currently in isolation at a designated medical facility," the RCB said then. The pacer had earlier played for Delhi Capitals in the previous edition of the IPL but failed to leave an impact. In three matches that Sams played, he didn’t pick up any wickets. Though, the left-arm fast bowler has been in decent touch in the recent past and has been picking up wickets consistently.

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Despite consecutive defeats Sunrisers camp upbeat ahead of clash against Mumbai Indians

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have not had a start they would have wanted and opened their campaign in the 14th edition of the IPL with two back to back losses. But the mood in the camp has not been damning and the leadership group is standing right behind the players and backing them to better any team in the competition on their day. Speaking from a sideline of a practice session in a video posted by the franchise on its Twitter timeline, head coach Trevor Bayliss has shown confidence in players’ abilities ahead of the clash against the Mumbai Indians in Chennai. He also reiterated that the last time these sides met each other in the IPL, the men in orange had an upper hand against the men in blue who went on to become the champions of the tournament. “Last time we played Mumbai, we played well and won that match. Obviously, they can be a very difficult proposition. There are very good players there but on our day when we play well, we can beat anyone,” Bayliss said. The Sunrisers have been put up in Chennai and have played both their games at the MA Chidambaram Stadium where pitches have been on the slower side. They have batted second in both the game and have struggled to chase down scores on pitches where bowlers relied on cutters and slower balls. Having earned the experience of two games, both the Sunrisers batsmen and bowlers know what they need to correct going forward in the tournament, SRH assistant coach Brad Haddin said in the same video. He said that the bowlers have learnt the lengths they need to bowl on slower pitches while batsmen have learnt what they need to work upon to take the game with a foreword-looking approach ahead of the game against the Mumbai Indians. “Three games in now and I think we are using a similar wicket to what we did in the first game. So there will be no surprise. Guys have batted enough, bowled enough to know the lengths they have to bowl and what they need to work in the nets when it comes to batting on how to move the game. I think it’s an advantage that we have played here a couple of times,” Haddin added. The Sunrisers have been rated highly by the head coach of the Mumbai Indians Mahela Jayawardene as well who has called the men in orange a group of highly talented players. The Sunrisers will be desperate to get back to the winning ways after failing to chase down scores in both the two games they have played this season. Both the Mumbai and the Hyderabad camps don’t expect any changes in the nature of pitches, and conditions and hence, a decision to bat first after winning the toss can’t be ruled out completely.

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IPL 2021 Preview: Balanced RCB seek to complete hattrick of wins vs vulnerable KKR

Two in two, a position at the top of the table for Royal Challengers Bangalore and some good captaincy from Virat Kohli at a crucial stage of the game. Well, for the RCB fans it’s an unusual sight especially at the starting of the tournament. RCB are high on some brilliant performances from the rookies in the tournament so far. Seamer Harshal Patel showed his class with the ball in the first match against Mumbai Indians after picking up a fifer while Shahbaz Ahmed turned the game on its head against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The left-arm spinner picked up three wickets in one over at the death to not only bring RCB back in the hunt but push SRH on the backfoot. While RCB have turned fortunes for themselves from a critical situation, Kolkata Knight Riders lost a game from a position where grabbing a win was a cakewalk. KKR’s middle-order has been a cause of concern for the side. Batsmen like Andre Russell, captain Eoin Morgan and Shakib al Hasan have failed to leave a mark in the competition. Though, this is still an early call to make for batsmen with such calibre but the Kolkata franchise needs their middle and lower middle order to fire against RCB. Balanced RCB vs Vulnerable KKR RCB captain Kohli has been talking about finding that perfect balance in his side for quite some time. And this was probably the reason why the Bangalore-based franchise went after Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell with all guns blazing. They were forced to pay Rs 14.5 Cr to fetch the right-hander but it did not look like a point of concern for them. The call raised some eyebrows, given Maxwell's returns in the cash-rich league has been dwindling consistently over the last few years, but it seems like that RCB have hit the bullseye this time. Maxwell, who is being handed over the responsibility of batting at number 4 has certainly shown his worth at the position. He has already played a couple of good knocks for the team that certainly did set a tone. Apart from Maxwell, Devdutt Padikkal is back in the XI while AB de Villiers unleashed a powerful attack against MI which eventually anchored them to victory. Captain Kohli hasn’t scored big runs for some time now but has looked well settled at the crease for whatever the time he has spent out there in the middle. The uncapped youngsters have been pretty successful as far as the bowling department is concerned. So, the RCB unit looks to be a pretty balanced one at the moment. Coming to the Kolkata Knight Riders, they too have some young guns who are firing well for them. But the problem lies in the middle order as mentioned above. While Nitish Rana is in some great touch after he has scored a couple of fifties on the trot, Shubman Gill too has been involved in giving some decent starts to KKR. But it’s the players like Russell, Morgan, Shakib and even Dinesh Karthik who need to justify the kind of brand names they are. KKR are facing the problem of losing wickets regularly in the middle overs which can only be rectified if these four players take up the responsibility of staying at the crease for a longer period of time. Toss it up Toss is going to play a major role in this game. The track in Chennai so far has created a lot of problems for the team batting second. Though Kohli is someone who loves to chase but looking at the condition of the strips, it is becoming difficult for the batsmen to get the timing right. They have been miscuing their shots, especially against the spinners while the seamers have used cutters and slower balls every now and then to deceive the batsmen. It is believed that chasing especially in a T20 game keeps you more in control of the game but this equation might not work when Kohli’s troops lock horns with Eoin Morgan’s unit. The mantra to be successful on this pitch is simple. Win the toss, bat first, set a decent total and use your bowlers well. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders Details Match: RCB vs KKR, 10th Match, Indian Premier League 2021 Date: Sunday, April 18, 2021 Time: 3:30 PM Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Pitch and Weather The pitch in Chennai has been relatively slower where the bowlers have used the cutters and slower balls pretty well. The run-scoring has been difficult and it looks like this trend is going to persist at least in this match between RCB and KKR. The weather has been decent throughout the matches that have been played here. Team News RCB: Daniel Sams is out of the quarantine and has joined the team’s bio-bubble with two consecutive negative reports for COVID-19. Devdutt Padikkal was back in the XI after recovering from COVID-19 to provide more strength to the side in the previous match while the bowlers are in decent form so far in the tournament. Skipper Kohli won’t be looking to make any changes in the team and would be reluctant to tweak the winning combination for now. KKR: The youngsters have been in some form for them in this competition while the senior pros need to get back into the groove to get some positive results. With a win and a defeat under their belt, KKR too won’t be looking to make much of a change in the XI. But there can be one change in the XI where Kuldeep Yadav might find a place for himself replacing Varun Chakravarthy Strongest XI RCB: Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shahbaz Ahmed, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers(w), Washington Sundar, Daniel Christian, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal KKR: Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan(c), Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik(w), Shakib Al Hasan, Pat Cummins, Harbhajan Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav Fantasy XI AB de Villiers (VC), Virat Kohli, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Glenn Maxwell (C), Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna

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MI coach Mahela Jayawardene doesn't expect better pitch, commends highly-talented SRH side

The head coach of the Mumbai Indians Mahela Jayawardene has spoken very highly of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team ahead of the clash between the two teams on April 17 in Chennai. Jayawardene called the Sunrisers a very stable team that knows their strengths and weakness over the year. Also, he commended talented players in the Sunrisers camp for helping the team qualify for the playoffs almost ‘every year.’ “SRH is a team that always qualifies for the playoffs. they have a very very good record. Very competitive team. Knows exactly what their strengths are, and they challenge any team on those strengths. Very talented individuals in there in their squad, in their team,” Jayawardene said in a video previewing the upcoming game against the Sunrisers released by the franchise on its Twitter timeline. Jayawardene especially rated both the bowling attacks very highly before the men in blue and orange will go head to head in the ninth game of the 14th edition of the IPL. He said that teams that have bowling attack capable of picking regular wickets will have the upper hand and that has been a crucial factor for the Sunrisers over the last many years in IPL. “Both teams do have some quality bowling and that is where the advantage lies in any team in this format when you have bowlers who can pick up wickets and SRH has been doing that for many years. So, I think on a wicket which is going to assist it will be a very interesting battle,” Jayawardene added. The pitches in the previous games at the MA Chidambaram Stadium have been slower and lower in nature and Jayawardene said he is not hoping for any better conditions on Saturday night. However, he did not overlook the contribution of bowlers and lauded them for making good use of the conditions. Jayawardene was upbeat and said that as a team Mumbai would be looking forward to countering different types of threats from different oppositions in the IPL this year. “The wickets, I don’t think it will improve. It will be the same. Obviously, the average score has come down a notch but it has to do with the bowlers as well. Different opposition will pose different threats and that’s something we need to look at. But at the same time, I think it’s about execution out there in the field,” Jayawardene gave his assessment. Jayawardene was very happy at his players pulling their sock up in a tough game against the Knight Riders where the coach himself conceded that they were not in the game for the first 10 overs. But, he said that pulling off a win from those situations will work wonders for the confidence of players going ahead in the tournament. He also said that the win achieved very early in the journey is quite crucial for the seamless progression of the team in a two-month-long tournament which he said will have a lot of close games with teams spending a lot of time and playing a majority of matches at common venues. “I think this season most of the games will be very closely fought. All teams are quite strong and everyone is playing in conditions which they have to get used to,” he said. “Having not played the best cricket in the first half of the KKR game for the guys to come back. Even after 10 overs where they were not in the game was very good for the confidence of the players especially to the team to start the tournament. Getting points on the board early is quite crucial.” Jayawardene would be hoping for better outings for the batsmen after subdued performances in the last two games as they handed two five-wicket hauls in both the game against them this season.