The Cricketer takes a look at the next fixture in the 2022 Indian Premier League season
Delhi Capitals take on Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League.
The game will begin on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. The first ball will be bowled at 7.30pm local time (3pm GMT).
It will be held at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Neither side has great form going into this tie with both having been beaten over the weekend.
Punjab Kings’ explosive batting line-up collapsed against Sunrisers Hyderabad despite a powerful 60 off 33 balls from Liam Livingstone who has been their star batter of the tournament.
The Lancashire man has racked up 224 runs in the tournament so far and is key to the Kings’ middle order.
Jonny Bairstow hasn’t yet found his feet for Punjab, batting at three, but Punjab’s top order is the most powerful in the tournament, with Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal joining the two Englishmen in the top four.
However, the bowling battery has proven to be shaky and allowed teams to chase big scores. They have a very experienced and capable name in Kagiso Rabada but he has been expensive at times and the bowling attack lacks the firepower to run through sides. If their batting fires, they have the ability to put scores on the board that any side would have trouble chasing.
Capitals stuttered chasing 190 against Royal Challengers Bangalore after a destructive 66 off 38 balls from David Warner at the top of the order. They lacked impetus lower down the order to accelerate towards the target after Mitchell Marsh was run out.
The depth in their squad will be further tested in this match with Mitchell Marsh currently in hospital with Covid-19 and further Covid issues hitting the group.
Their bowling attack is strong with Kuldeep Yadav particularly impressing, but they have also conceded some big scores and at times their attack hasn’t had an answer when under pressure.
Liam Livingstone [screengrab/BCCI]
Liam Livingstone is key in whatever side he plays for at the moment. If he is allowed to get going it will be very difficult for the Capitals' bowlers to stop him and he can take the game away from the opposition very quickly.
Indeed, if the rest of Kings' top order find ways to stay at the crease, Delhi could be looking at chasing a very big total. It will be interesting to see how the batters approach Kuldeep Yadav and how effective he will be against Punjab’s firepower.
Also key for the Capitals is David Warner. If Delhi are to post or chase a big score they will need Warner to build on his fine form from the weekend.
Prithvi Shaw is having a decent tournament in what is a formidable opening pair for the Kings.
Matches played: 28
Delhi Capitals wins: 15
Punjab Kings: 13
It will cloud over in Mumbai once the sun goes down and temperatures will hover around 31 degrees for the match.
Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Shardul Thakur, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin Hebbar, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, KS Bharat, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Tim Seifert, Vicky Ostwal
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell
Delhi Capitals: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Lalit Yadav, Sarfaraz Khan, Rovman Powell, Shardul Thakur, Axal Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Khaleel Ahmed
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora
Rishabh Pant's side have been disrupted by a Covid outbreak [screengrab/BCCI]
Bet365 has Punjab Kings as favourites with odds at 4/5 while Delhi Capitals are at evens. Paddy Power has the same odds.
With Delhi’s ongoing Covid issues and Punjab’s potential for batting pyrotechnics, Kings’ take the favourites spot. However, if Punjab are put under pressure early on then the Capitals have plenty of talent to run them close.
In the UK, Sky Sports have exclusive rights to this year's tournament, with matches available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.
Fans in India can watch all of the action on Star Sports.
Elsewhere in the world, viewers in Australia can watch the IPL on Fox Sports while in New Zealand, Sky Sport will provide coverage.
Willow TV and Flow Sports will broadcast the tournament in the United States and the Caribbean, respectively.
Fans in MENA can catch the action on beIN Sports while in South Africa, SuperSport have the rights.
The IPL can also be streamed on Disney+ and Hotstar in certain areas.
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