IPL 2021: Match 11 – DC vs PBKS – Delhi Capitals Predicted Playing XI

The runners-up of the previous edition, Delhi Capitals will be up against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 18, Sunday in their third match of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Entering the contest, the Capitals will be low on confidence as they registered a defeat against Rajasthan Royals in their last game owing to a horrific collapse of their batting line-up. Rishabh Pant was the highest run-getter with 51 runs under his belt.

However, his knock was overshadowed by David Miller who played a sublime inning of 62 runs to help RR win the game by three wickets. Playing against Punjab, Delhi will be hoping to bury the demons of the past game and present a comprehensive show on the field to win the match.

Here’s DC’s Predicted Playing XI for IPL 2021 Match 11:

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw)

There are hardly any chances of Delhi meddling with their tried and tested opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw. Both Shaw and Dhawan were the architects behind the team’s victory in their first game against Chennai Super Kings by seven wickets.

Dhawan played a sublime knock of 85 runs off 54 deliveries at a strike rate of 157.41 against MS Dhoni’s Super Kings while Shaw added a stunning 72 runs off just 38 deliveries to the scoreboard.

However, both the players failed to perform in the game against RR as they marched back to the pavilion after scoring nine and two runs respectively. Thus, Shikhar and Prithvi will be hungry to score runs in the game against Punjab Kings.

Middle Order (Rishabh Pant (C and WK), Ajinkya Rahane)

The skipper Rishabh Pant has been in a stunning form with the willow for the past few months. The youngster is continuing his brilliant form in the 2021 edition of the IPL too as he emerged as a lone warrior for the Capitals in their match against RR.

While the other batsmen failed to put ruins on the scoreboard, Pant smashed 51 runs off 32 deliveries to propel Delhi towards a total of 147 runs. Apart from Rishabh Pant, another batsman who is expected to find a place in the playing XI has to be Ajinkya Rahane.

Though Rahane has failed to essay the role assigned to him, Delhi don’t have another experienced Indian batsman as earlier, Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the entire tournament due to a shoulder injury.

All-Rounders (Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Chris Woakes)

Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis was a revelation for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2020 as he made a significant contribution with both the willow and the ball. Meanwhile, the all-rounder is experiencing a torrid run in IPL 2021 thus far as in the two matches against CSK and RR, he has failed to perform.

However, the Australian cricketer is a star player and is a match-winner. Thus, DC won’t be looking towards dropping their main player due to just two bad games. Apart from Marcus Stoinis, the other two all-rounders will be Lalit Yadav and Chris Woakes. Woakes has been impressive in the two matches especially with the new ball.

Delhi made a surprising call in the match against RR as they included young Lalit Yadav in the team. Yadav failed to score big in his maiden IPL game as he scored just 20 balls off 24 balls. However, the franchise is expected to back the youngster and is likely to play him for one or two more games.

Bowlers (Ravi Ashwin, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan, Kagiso Rabada)

In their last outing against Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals decided to go with only one spin option in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin. Ashwin delivered a stunning performance as in his three overs, he conceded just 14 runs. Thus, DC is expected to go with the same strategy this time too. They are likely to play only Ashwin in the spin department alongside three speedsters Avesh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, and Anrich Nortje.

Kagiso Rabada doesn’t need any introduction as he has been the backbone of DC’s line-up for the past three years. The right-arm pacer is expected to be at his fluent best against Punjab as he will be accompanied by his South African teammate Anrich Nortje.

Nortje joined DC’s bubble after returning three negative COVID-19 results after he had returned a false-positive result. With Nortje available for selection, Delhi are unlikely to do any experiments and will be including their successful pace duo of Nortje and Rabada. Along with the two South Africans, the young Avesh Khan can get a chance as he has been impressive with the ball in IPL 2021 thus far.