IPL 2020: Match 2, Delhi Capitals vs Kings XI Punjab- DC Predicted Playing XI

Delhi Capitals (DC) have been the underachievers of the Indian Premier League (IPL). After 12 seasons, they are yet to get their hands on the trophy despite having some of the big names in their ranks. However, in the 2019 edition, they made their way through to the Qualifier 2 under Shreyas Iyer’s leadership.

Change in name- from Daredevils to Capitals- paid a lot of dividends for the team. In 2020, they are set to kickstart their campaign against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in their first match. On a Super Sunday, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Iyer and Co would be looking for a winning-start.

In the auction that took place in December last year, DC roped in a number of new faces, most of whom have prior experience of playing in the cash-rich and prestigious league.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Delhi Capitals (DC):

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw)

Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw opened for the Capitals in 2019 and things aren’t expected to change in 2020 as well. Dhawan prefers to play the sheet-anchor’s role even as Shaw mostly likes to take the attack to the opposition.

In the last season, both the openers got stuck in the 90s once against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). However, both times, the Capitals came out trumps. Dhawan was also their leading run-scorer, scoring 521 runs with five fifties. A lot would depend on how the left-hander turns up in the powerplay and thereafter.

Shaw, despite getting 99 versus KKR, averaged 22.06, showing indifference. He will be looking to be a bit more consistent. If Dhawan and Shaw open then Ajinkya Rahane, who came in from Rajasthan Royals (RR), will have to sit out.

Middle-order (Shimron Hetmyer, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rishabh Pant (WK))

The middle-order is relatively young for the Capitals, but there’s no dearth of power and talent. Shimron Hetmyer faltered for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) last time and was released. However, he’s in good rhythm after some handy knocks for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL), getting three fifty-plus scores in the tournament.

In skipper Shreyas Iyer, DC have someone, who can put his head down in critical situations. The right-hander isn’t the most attractive batter, but he gets runs silently as was the case last year when he got 463 runs.

For the first game, Rishabh Pant is likely to keep Alex Carey on the benches. Pant can smash the leather a country mile and has been consistent as well, scoring 488 runs last time at a strike-rate of 162.66

All-rounders (Marcus Stoinis, Harshal Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin)

The Capitals have a fair amount of depth in their batting. Marcus Stoinis has played for KXIP and RCB before and tasted reasonable success. The Melbourne Stars batsman will now be looking to bring forth all his experience for the Capitals.

He was in reasonable form in Australia’s limited-overs series against England that concluded on September 16. Not to forget his slow medium fast bowling. Harshal Patel is more known for his bowling than his batting, but a T20 strike-rate of 153.81 means that he can wield the willow pretty decently in the shorter format.

He might not be a big name, but undermining him can cost the oppositions big time. Ravi Ashwin’s inclusion will also boost the Capitals. Apart from his variations in bowling, he can also do a lot of damage with the bat in hand.

Bowlers (Kagiso Rabada, Sandeep Lamichhane, Amit Mishra)

Kagiso Rabada was in red-hot form in the 2019 edition of the tournament. He bowled with venom and picked up 25 wickets from 12 matches at an average and strike-rate of 14.72 and 11.2 respectively. Albeit he has had a lean patch of late, it’s a matter of time before he finds his rhythm.

Rabada is a kind of bowler, who can extract a lot even out of pitches not conducive for pace bowling. Sandeep Lamichhane and Amit Mishra, the two wrist-spinners, are expected to be give headaches to the KXIP batters.

Nepalese sensation Lamichhane bowled well for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the CPL and is in good enough form. Mishra, on the other hand, is a veteran and has all the tricks in his bag. Mishra is the second-highest wicket-taker in the history of the IPL with 157 scalps from 147 games.