IPL 2020: DC vs KXIP Predicted Playing 11: No Rahane or Gayle tonight

Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Mohit Sharma

Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, Shimron Hetmyer and Marcus Stoinis

Glenn Maxwell, Nicholas Pooran, Chirs Jordan, Sheldon Cottrell

KL Rahul wins the toss and elects to bowl first. Delhi will bat first

"It's a good looking wicket. Good covering of grass, the wicket should play like it did last night (in Abu Dhabi). The square boundaries are pretty big, so the batsmen need to be tactical. The average first innings total is 167 and the captain winning the toss would like to chase first,' observe Michael Slater and Kevin Pietersen.'

-- KL Rahul needs 23 runs to complete 2000 IPL runs
-- Chris Gayle is 16 short of 4500 IPL runs
-- 3 more scalps and Amit Mishra will complete 100 wickets for the Delhi franchise
-- Rishabh Pant needs 6 more sixes to complete 100 IPL sixes

Glenn Maxwell in form: Maxwell comes off the back of scores of 108 and 77 in two of three ODIs vs England.

Rahane likely to play tonight: Ricky Ponting said that Rahane is in the ‘mix of things’ for the first match

Rishabh Pant vs KXIP: Pant has played against KXIP on 7 times and has scored just 99 runs from 71 balls

Ishant Sharma not be fit for the game between Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab

#UniversBoss Chris Gayle Having Fun before #DCvKXIP #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/x62iQpQOSn

— CricAllrounder (@Cricallrounder) September 20, 2020

Me too apart from #CSK matches.#IPL2020 #DCvKXIP https://t.co/yQNm0Kf6lH

— Rajashekar Reddy (@reddirajasheker) September 20, 2020

When a part of the IPL was played in the UAE in 2014, Glenn Maxwell topped the run-charts with 300 runs, scoring at 12.08 RPO. Maxwell comes off the back of scores of 108 and 77 in two of three ODIs vs England. How will he fare for KXIP?

Little less than an hour to go for the toss and team news from DC vs KXIP. Follow all the live updates of the match here.

For KXIP, KL Rahul means inspiration. In the last two seasons of the IPL, a red-hot Rahul burned up the charts with 659 in 2018 and 493 runs in 2019 respectively. He will be hoping for a third good IPL season on the trot to boost his confidence ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup. For DC, Rishabh Pant had a wonderful IPL last year, scoring 488 runs including an explosive 78 not out against Mumbai Indians. He is a player to watch out for and can trouble the KXIP bowling attack tonight.

KXIP Probable XI: 1 KL Rahul, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Sarfaraz Khan, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Krishnappa Gowtham/Deepak Hooda, 7 Murugan Ashwin, 8 Mohammed Shami, 9 Ishan Porel, 10 Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

DC Probable XI: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Shreyas Iyer (Captain), 4 Ajinkya Rahane, 5 Rishabh Pant (WK), 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Ishant Sharma, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Sandeep Lamichhane

Jos Buttler won't be available for Rajasthan Royals' first match of IPL 2020 against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday as he is serving a mandatory quarantine having arrived in the UAE with his family.

KXIP -

Gayle
Maxwell
Neesham
Mujeeb

DC -

Hetmyer
Stoinis
Sams
Rabada

"Expecting a KXIP win today against DC due to the strong overseas batting lineup and due to the slow track in UAE. An Anil Kumble Masterclass incoming," writes Animesh on social media. Do you agree?

The IPL action moves to Dubai today. Here's a tour of the Dubai International Stadium, which hosted ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier matches last year, including the final ?? pic.twitter.com/vO5hMA2gmW

— ICC (@ICC) September 20, 2020

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said that India batsman Ajinkya Rahane’s spot in playing XI is not guaranteed. However, he did add that Rahane is in the ‘mix of things’ for the first match. "I have worked closely with him to improve his T20 batting but I have already had the conversation with him regarding this and as far as the first match goes he is certainly in the mix of things.”

Kings XI Punjab have played 5 matches in UAE so far and won all those matches. However, on paper, it is the Delhi Capitals who look stronger of the two. Predict your winner wisely!

Delhi Capitals head coah Ricky Ponting says that the surface in Dubai pitch has a fair amount of grass covering thereby indicating that seamers might play a crucial role to play in the initial phase. But with Ishant Sharma injured Delhi might go in with Avesh Khan or Mohit Sharma as the Indian seamer.

It's time for the North-Indian derby on Matchday 2 of IPL 2020. Prithvi Shaw or Rishabh Pant- which flamboyant Indian batsman would you pick in your team? Pant has played against KXIP on 7 times and has scored just 99 runs from 71 balls, at an average of 16.5 and a strike-rate of 139.44. His career average stands at 33.45 with a strike-rate of 155.66. So there is a marked difference. Would you bank on him tonight ?

Ishant Sharma might not be fit for the game between Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab today! Sharma has reportedly injured his back on the eve of Delhi Capital’s first IPL 2020 game in Dubai during a recent practice session and could miss the opening clash against KXIP and few after that.

Chris Gayle seems like a good choice to include in your playing XI

The last time the #UniverseBoss faced #DC ??

Runs ?? 69
Balls ?? 37
Fours ?? 6
Sixes ?? 5
Strike rate ?? 186.49#SaddaPunjab #Dream11IPL #DCvKXIP @henrygayle pic.twitter.com/F7P7t9MAeN

— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) September 20, 2020

Delhi Capitals players will don jerseys bearing the message "Thank You COVID Warriors" during the entire tournament in UAE, calling the initiative a "small token of gratitude" towards the frontline workers fighting the pandemic.

That's the stunning catch by du plessis #IPL2020 #MIvCSK pic.twitter.com/IpLkyqdEzY

— atul bhagat (@Nikkerman) September 19, 2020

How Bubble Game is impacting the superstars

The India-based unit of 400 will be stacked over six self-contained floors — the room plan drawn to segregate the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bangla and the English world feed teams. What used to be the much-in-demand luxury suite has now been turned into a Covid-19 testing space for the cricket guests.

This is an unusual IPL. It is making a very busy retired cricketer with an upcoming silver screen debut pensive. More worryingly, it’s turning stars with boy-band hair-dos and tattoos philosophical.

Current M??D!! pic.twitter.com/1mesdZrRYf

— Yuzvendra Chahal (@yuzi_chahal) September 20, 2020

Jadeja is happy to win those two points:

Felt awesome to be back doing what I love. Super win. Let's go @chennaiipl ?? #whistlepodu pic.twitter.com/ktFVhWLVTG

— Ravindrasinh jadeja (@imjadeja) September 20, 2020

Kings XI Punjab Predicted Playing XI: Chris Gayle, KL Rahul (C&WK), Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Sarfaraz Khan, K Gowtham, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Shami, M Ashwin, Ishan Porel

Delhi Capitals Predicted Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Akshar Patel, R Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Sandeep Lamichhane

Big injury scare for Delhi Capitals as their fast bowler Ishant Sharma reportedly got injured during their training ahead of their first match on Sunday against KXIP. According to Cricbuzz, Ishant injured his back during training and will be reportedly sidelined for some time.

The Gaffer's got plenty reasons to be optimistic, and so should you ?

Hear @anilkumble1074 on Episode 1 of #CoachDiSoch#SaddaPunjab #Dream11IPL #DCvKXIP pic.twitter.com/ji7AwTO30K

— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) September 20, 2020

First training session with DC ?? Enjoyable batting knock @SHetmyer talks to us after joining up with the DC squad ??

P.S. Watch out for a delightful @ShreyasIyer15 gatecrash ?#DCvKXIP #Dream11IPL #IPL2020 #YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/ir8DWjhkh3

— Delhi Capitals (Tweeting from ??) (@DelhiCapitals) September 20, 2020

He says it took him a couple of days to get used to the heaviness of the bat and playing with a helmet again after (lockdown) months of inaction. In a chat with The Indian Express, before he left for the UAE, the Delhi Capitals opener Prithvi Shaw opens up on the difficulties he faced when he resumed training and looks at the challenges of staying in the bio bubble. Excerpts

SRH captain David Warner is hoping the team's young recruits 'translate their talent into performance' in the 13th IPL and said gaining early momentum would do themselves a world of good. The Sunrisers open their campaign in the 13th IPL with a game against RCB on Monday. "We will try our best for that and if it doesn't happen, will re-work our strategies and hope to go the distance in the IPL. The boys have to just go out there and have fun, not take it too seriously," he said.

'Yes, it is good to have a lot of youngsters in the middle-order. They bring a lot of enthusiasm and show the right kind of attitude, too. I have been hearing some very good reports about it and hope they translate their talent into performances.'

Sam Curran says he was left 'surprised' by 'genius' MS Dhoni's move to send the England all-rounder ahead of himself during the IPL opener between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. After an economical spell with the ball, the 22-year-old scored a quick-fire 18 off just six balls to help his side start the campaign on a positive note. After the dismissal of Ravindra Jadeja for the team's fourth wicket, Dhoni surprised everyone by sending Curran up the order with 29 needed off 17 balls.

'To be honest, I was very surprised that I went in. Dhoni is a genius and obviously thought something. We targeted that over (18th) and I went in with a six or out mentality... sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn't,' said Curran.

Interview - I was surprised to walk out to bat ahead of MS Dhoni - @CurranSM

Sam Curran and @NgidiLungi speak about @ChennaiIPL's win in Abu Dhabi, @RayuduAmbati's knock & @faf1307's game changing catches.

Watch it here - https://t.co/AxIyMpntbL #Dream11IPL #MIvCSK pic.twitter.com/gkauiI8K6J

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 20, 2020

CSK head coach Stephen Fleming has confirmed that their star all-rounder Dwayne Bravo will miss another couple of matches of the 13th IPL. "Dwayne Bravo is out for a couple of games," Fleming said in the post-match press conference.

Bravo picked a niggle during the recently-concluded Caribbean Premier League and didn't bowl in the final due to a knee injury. Playing in place of Bravo, Sam Curran smashed 18 off six balls to help CSK cross the finish line.

CSK skipper MS Dhoni has said his team's tremendous "experience" proved to be a crucial factor in its five-wicket victory over defending champions in the IPL opener. Ambati Rayudu and Faf Du Plessis set up the win with a 115-run stand, while Piyush Chawla was brilliant with the ball and was aided by likes of Sam Curran, Deepak Chahar, and Lungi Ngidi.

"The experience pays off, everyone talks about it. You get it only after you play a lot of games. 300 ODIs is a dream for anybody to play and when you put an XI on the field, you need a good mix of youngsters and experienced players. You need the experienced players to guide the youngsters on and off the field. The young players get 60-70 days with the seniors in the IPL," said Dhoni.

In a typical calculated chase, Chennai find heroes in Rayudu and du Plessis to beat Mumbai by 5 wickets. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) in the opening match of IPL 2020 by 5 wickets and with 4 balls to spare. 

This ONE's for you, #yellove FAMILY! ?? #WhistleFromHome #WhistlePodu #MIvCSK pic.twitter.com/8F1gMgx3Gd

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) September 19, 2020

Hello and welcome to IPL 2020 as the tournament now moves to the second day after the thriller CSK vs MI opening match. Stay tuned for all the live updates from Dubai.