DC vs PBKS Head to Head, Playing XI, Preview, Where to Watch on TV, Online, and Live Streaming Details

The April 20 clash between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings is shrouded in a Covid-19 cloud following the emergence of no less than five positive cases, including Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, in the Capitals’ camp. As it stands, the conduction of the contest is subjected to a fresh round of RT-PCR tests on the morning of the game, which has been moved from Pune’s MCA to Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium in a bid to keep intact the integrity of the IPL bubble.

The air of worry around is inevitable, given how things went south in little time in 2021, when the tournament was doomed due to the invisible pathogen making inroads, forcing an unprecedented midway halt before the business was finished later in the UAE. Even as that standard of panic has not set in, the BCCI would want to be safe than sorry.

Alright with all that, what about cricket? The Capitals have been jittery, the Kings unpredictable. Both of them are well outside the qualification zone, with the former at the eighth spot with three losses in five games, while the latter only a spot above with an equal number of losses, albeit in six affairs.

The Kings went down against Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets in their last encounter where their batting line-up – keep aside Liam Livingstone – fell headlong while going with their devil-may-care, slam-bang approach, which has zero room for playing the situation. The method, like any other, comes with its set of pros and cons, and it bore fruits against RCB but also misfired against KKR and SRH. However, nearly halfway through the season, it is clear that that is how the Kings will play their cricket.

Meanwhile, they have relied a tad too heavily to anyone’s liking on Kagiso Rabada and Rahul Chahar for the wicket-taking job. Arshdeep Singh has been at his frugal best but is desperately in search of wickets, having got only two in six games. Four of all-rounder Odean Smith’s six strikes have come in one game (against Mumbai Indians), while with the bat, he is yet to set the tournament alight. Uncapped Vaibhav Arora has shone briefly, but has been on the expensive side of late. In short, there are issues to be solved in bowling.

The Capitals, on the flip side, have been marred by availability issues right from the onset this season. They had to do without David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, and Mustafizur Rahman at the start of the season, while they are yet to avail the services of Anrich Nortje properly, one of their pre-auction retentions, owing to his long-standing hip issue. Warner’s addition has done the Capitals top-order a world of good, but they will miss his countryman, Marsh, for a considerable time again thanks to Covid-19.

The Capitals would be buoyed by the deliverance of Kuldeep Yadav and Khaleel Ahmed, who are both amongst the wickets, but the same could not be said of Axar Patel, who has struck only once this year. While he has somewhat compensated for the lack of wickets with some lusty hitting lower down the order, Rovman Powell has not done anything like that, with four single-digit scores (two of them ducks) in five outings. Mustafizur has not been at his best either; he has gone wicketless thrice in a row after a three-wicket outing against Gujarat Titans in Pune.

Pitch and conditions 

That the Brabourne Stadium has been a batters’ delight can be well evidenced by the average first innings total of 195 in eight games so far. However, there is no winner between defenders and chasers, with the win-loss record currently being on an even keel of 4-4. Still, expect the teams to prefer chasing.

Playing combinations for DC vs PBKS

Delhi Capitals

Tim Seifert should walk in to fill for Marsh. The Capitals will hope Mustafizur rediscovers his wicket-taking rhythm, especially after being taken apart by Dinesh Karthik in the last game, as he returned 0/48 in his full quota.

Predicted XI: Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Tim Seifert, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Rovman Powell, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Khaleel Ahmed

Punjab Kings

Shikhar Dhawan stood as captain in the injury-enforced absence of Mayank Agarwal against SRH. It remains to be seen whether Agarwal’s toe issue will let him take part on Wednesday.

Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal/Prabhsimran Singh, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh

DC vs PBKS Head-to-Head

Played – 28 | Delhi Capitals – 13 | Punjab Kings – 15

DC vs PBKS Broadcast Details

Match Timings – 07:30 PM IST

TV – Star Sports Network

Live Streaming – Disney+Hotstar