Squads:
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Steven Smith, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Chris Woakes, Aniruddha Joshi, Sam Billings, Lukman Meriwala, Tom Curran, Praveen Dubey, Anrich Nortje, Vishnu Vinod, Manimaran Siddharth, Shams Mulani, Ripal Patel
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul(c), Prabhsimran Singh(w), Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Chris Jordan, Riley Meredith, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Moises Henriques, Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh, Dawid Malan, Jalaj Saxena, Murugan Ashwin, Sarfaraz Khan, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar, Jhye Richardson, Ishan Porel, Utkarsh Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Arshdeep Singh
Shikhar Dhawan gets a single after facing a dot delivery. Shimron Hetmyer comes to the crease and the miscued pull shot goes to mid-off. 4 runs and a wicket from Jordan's over. DC still need 19 runs from 18 balls. Riley Meredith bowls the 18th over. Dhawan gets a single first ball. SIX! Hetmyer hits it over the sight screen for a maximum. SIX! That was short from Meredith and Hetmyer pulls it towards mid-wicket for another maximum. FOUR! Full and wide, Hetmyer hits it towards extra cover for a boundary. Meredith follows it up with two wides and DC win the match. DC beat PBKS by 7 wickets with 14 balls to spare. DC rise to the top of the points table with six wins from eight games. DC 167/3 after 17.4 overs
monthly limit of free stories.
with an Express account.
Chris Jordan back in attack. Shikhar Dhawan hits it towards deep mid-wicket, gets a couple of runs. Dhawan hits it towards sweeper cover, gets a single. WICKET! Rishabh Pant goes for an aggressive slog but loses his bat in the process. The top edge goes up in the air and Mayank Agarwal takes the catch. DC 147/3 after 16.3 overs
Deepak Hooda back in attack. He puts a stop to the boundaries. Three singles and a couple of runs from Hooda's second over. DC need 23 runs from 24 balls. DC 144/2 after 16 overs
Mohammed Shami back in attack. Two singles off the first two balls. FOUR! Shikhar Dhawan pulls it towards deep square leg for a boundary. He gets a single next ball. SIX! Rishabh Pant takes a couple of steps down the wicket and whips it over square leg for a maximum. This is getting too easy for DC. A dot ball to finish off the over. DC 139/2 after 15 overs
Ravi Bishnoi continues, his last over. SIX! Shikhar Dhawan once again plays with the spin and deposits it for a maximum. Dhawan completes his 44th IPL fifty with a maximum. This is his third half-century of the season. FOUR! Dhawan is in a hurry to finish this off. A single to follow. FOUR! Bishnoi bowls the googly and Rishabh Pant reverse sweeps it for a boundary past first slip fielder Chris Gayle. Two dot balls to end the spell. DC 126/2 after 14 overs
Riley Meredith back in attack. Shikhar Dhawan pulls the short ball towards on side, gets a couple of runs. Dhawan gets a single next ball. Steve Smith plays it towards deep mid-off, a dot ball. Meredith hits Smith's pads, a single via leg byes. Dhawan gets a single towards fine leg. WICKET! Smith goes for the big shot but the ball hangs in the air and Dawid Malan takes the catch. Smith out for 24. Meredith provides the breakthrough. DC 111/2 after 13 overs
Ravi Bishnoi continues. Steve Smith gets a single first ball. SIX! Shikhar Dhawan gets on one knee and slogs it over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. Three more singles from the over. 10 runs from Bishoni's third over. DC 106/1 after 12 overs
Harpreet Brar continues. Steve Smith hits it inside out and gets a couple of runs towards extra cover. Smith plays the ball with soft hands towards mid-wicket and gets another couple of runs. Smith and Dhawan knock it around for three singles. Dhawan gets it in the gap and gets a couple of runs. 9 runs from Harpreet's third over. DC 96/1 after 11 overs
Deepak Hooda, the right-arm off-spinner into the attack. Shikhar Dhawan gets a single off the second delivery. Smith plays it square of the wicket and finds the gap. A couple of runs for Smith as Ravi Bishnoi in the deep cuts it off. Three more singles from the over. DC 87/1 after 10 overs
Harpreet Brar continues. Punjab Kings need him to deliver more wickets. Three singles and a couple of twos from the over. Shikhar Dhawan and Steve Smith are not taking any chances against the in-form left-arm spinner, just working the ball in the gaps. DC 81/1 after 9 overs
Ravi Bishnoi returns to the attack after Prithvi Shaw's wicket. Two singles from the first three deliveries. FOUR! Steve Smith plays it towards fine leg and gets a boundary. Just one more single from the over. DC 74/1 after 8 overs
Steve Smith comes in to bat. Smith goes off the mark with a single. Just two more singles from the over. Terrific over from Harpreet Brar, just three singles and the wicket of Shaw. DC 66/1 after 7 overs
Harpreet Brar does it again. He provides the much-needed breakthrough. Prithvi shaw drives on the front foot but beaten by the spin. Shaw departs for 39. DC 63/1 after 6.1 overs
Chris Jordan into the attack. Prithvi Shaw gets a couple of runs off the first delivery. A dot ball to follow. SIX! Too easy for Shaw. He pulls it over mid-wicket for a six. FOUR! He follows it up with a boundary. He takes a single next ball. FOUR! Dhawan drives it on the up and gets another boundary. Excellent powerplay for DC as they are scoring over 10 runs per over. PBKS need wickets at this stage otherwise it will be too easy for DC. DC 63/0 after 6 overs
Ravi Bishnoi introduced into the attack in the powerplay overs. SIX! Prithvi Shaw hits it over long-on for a big six. Shaw is in sublime form in this IPL. Good comeback from Bishnoi, three more singles from the over. DC 46/0 after 5 overs
Now Shikhar Dhawan gets in on the action with two boundaries from Mohammed Shami's second over. 10 runs from Shami's over. So far, Delhi Capitals are well ahead of the required run rate. DC 37/0 after 4 overs
Shaw enters his groove as Mohammed Shami bowls the 2nd over. 6, 4, 4. Shami will be hoping he can avoid Mavi's fate here! 15 runs off the over. That gets DC off to a flier. Meredith continues in the 3rd over. And concedes just 3 runs in his over.
DC 27/0 after 3
Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw begin Delhi's chase. Riley Meredith bowls the first over. There's a fortunate edge that runs away for four off Dhawan's bat and Delhi are off.
DC 9/0 after 1
Harpreet Singh comes in to bat. He played a cameo in the previous game. FOUR! Harpreet clears his front leg and hits it over Avesh Khan for a boundary. Avesh Khan comes around the stumps and bowls a wide, a single via byes as well. Agarwal plays it towards long-off for just a single. Khan bowls another wide. Change of pace from Khan and it hits Harpreet, a single via leg byes. FOUR! Agarwal hits it in the gap towards deep mid-wicket. The low full toss gets the treatment from PBKS skipper. SIX! Agarwal hits it over the sight screen for a six. FOUR! Agarwal ends the innings with a boundary and remains unbeaten for 99 from 58 deliveries. PBKS 166/6 after 20 overs
Kagiso Rabada bowls the penultimate over. SIX! Mayank Agarwal backs away and hits it over the sight screen for a big six. He moves into 80s now. Rabada bowls the yorker this time, just a single. Full toss from Rabada, Jordan gets a single towards square leg. Agarwal plays the pull shot towards deep mid-wicket and gets a couple of runs. Low full toss from Rabada and Agarwal manages just a single towards long-on. WICKET! Extra pace from Rabada gets the better of Jordan as he departs for 2. PBKS 143/6 after 19 overs
Chris Jordan comes in to bat but on the non-striker's end. Mayank Agarwal gets a single. Jordan plays it straight to Shimron Hetmyer, just a single as he misfields. Another yorker and Agarwal could not get it past him, no run. Another yorker, just a single. PBKS 132/5 after 18 overs
Avesh Khan bowls the 18th over. Mayank Agarwal plays the yorker towards long-on for a single. WICKET! Shahrukh Khan goes for a big shot but outdone by extra pace. Shimron Hetmyer takes the catch running backwards. Just four runs for Shahrukh. PBKS 129/5 after 17.2 overs
Axar Patel bowls his final over. FOUR! That was darted on the pads by Patel and Mayank Agarwal hits it for a boundary towards deep square leg. FOUR! This time he finds the gap towards deep mid-wicket. He is hitting boundaries convincingly now. A dot ball and quick single to follow. Shahrukh Khan gets a single towards long-on. Another single to end the over. Agarwal is no batting on 71. PBKS 128/4 after 17 overs
Ishant Sharma bowls his final over. FOUR! That was down the leg side and Agarwal helps it on its way for a boundary. FIFTY! Agarwal gets to his half-century from 37 deliveries. Two singles to follow. SIX! That was full and wide. Agarwal hits it over deep extra cover for a maximum. DROPPED! Lalit Yadav drops the catch running backwards. That was half a chance but DC needed that wicket in the death overs. A couple of runs for Agarwal. He gets a single off the last ball. PBKS 117/4 after 16 overs
Kagiso Rabada back in attack. Shahrukh Khan gets off the mark with a single. Mayank Agarwal works it towards on side and gets a couple of runs. Two singles to follow. Good fielding from DC players inside the circle. SIX! That was short and Agarwal hits it towards mid-wicket for a maximum. A single to end the over. PBKS 102/4 after 15 overs
A comical run out as both the batsmen tried to reach the bowler's end. Deepak Hooda departs after scoring just one run. The last thing Punjab Kings wanted here was a run out. Shahrukh Khan is the new batsman in but on the non-striker end. A couple of runs more from the over for Agarwal. PBKS 90/4 after 14 overs
Axar Patel back in attack and bowls around the wicket to Dawid Malan. The Englishman goes for the slog but misses the ball completely. Patel hits the leg stump. Malan departs for 26 on IPL debut, an ordinary outing for the No.1 T20I batsman. PBKS 87/3 after 13.1 overs
Lalit Yadav back in attack. Dawid Malan plays it towards long-on, gets a single. Yadav bowls on Mayank Agarwal's pads, just a single towards square leg. Malan plays it towards covers, gets another single. FOUR! Low full toss from Yadav and Agarwal hits it straight for a one-bounce four. He gets a single next ball towards covers. The third-wicket partnership is now worth 50 runs. Another single from Malan to end the over. PBKS 87/2 after 13 overs
Ishant Sharma back in attack and starts off with a dot ball to Dawid Malan. SIX! Malan gets the width he needed and lofts it over covers for a maximum. That will release some pressure off Malan. A quick single to follow. Sharma bowls a yorker, just a single for Mayank Agarwal. FOUR! Short ball from Sharma and Malan pulls it away for a boundary towards fine leg. A yorker to end the over, just a single for Malan. His strike rate is now over 100. PBKS 78/2 after 12 overs
Avesh Khan back in attack. Mayank Agarwal gets a single off the second delivery. Dawid Malan is clearly struggling to find the gaps as he plays two dot deliveries. Malan goes for a quick single and survives the direct hit. He is currently batting on 11 from 17 deliveries. Another dot ball to end the over. Just two singles from Khan's second over. PBKS 65/2 after 11 overs
Axar Patel continues. Patel hits Dawid Malan's front pad and appeals aggressively. The umpire signals not out and Rishabh Pant goes for a review. Umpire's call saves Malan. An excellent over from Patel, just two singles from it. PBKS 63/2 after 10 overs
Lalit Yadav continues. Mayank Agarwal plays the short ball towards deep square leg and gets a couple of runs. Next ball, Agarwal hits it towards mid-wicket and gets another couple of runs as Steve Smith misfields. A single to follow. Dawid Malan goes back in the crease and hits it towards covers for a couple of runs. A dot ball to follow. He flicks the next one towards square leg for a single. PBKS 61/2 after 9 overs
Axar Patel into the attack. Dawid Malan plays it towards long-on for a single. Mayank Agarwal mistimes the drive, a dot ball. He works the next one towards mid-wicket, gets a single. Malan drives it towards covers, gets back for a couple of runs. 50 up for Punjab Kings! Two more singles from the over. PBKS 53/2 after 8 overs
Lalit Yadav, the off-spinner into the attack. Mayank Agarwal takes a single off the first ball. Dawid Malan takes a single as well. The Englishman is trying to play himself in. Two more singles followed by a dot ball. FOUR! Yadav bowls it full and Agarwal drives it past point for a boundary. PBKS 47/2 after 7 overs
Dawid Malan, the No.1 T20I batsman and the IPL debutant comes to the crease. Malan guides it towards the third man to get off the mark with a single. Mayank Agarwal hits it in the gap and gets a couple of runs. Just one more single from the over. PBKS 39/2 after 6 overs
Kagiso Rabada continues. SIX! Chris Gayle hits the short ball for a maximum over mid-wicket. That one almost hit the man of the series car. BOWLED! That was a slow full toss. Gayle absolutely bamboozled by that one. The Universe Boss departs after scoring just 13 runs from 9 balls. PBKS 35/2 after 5.2 overs
Chris Gayle is the new batsman in. He defends the first delivery, no run. Kagiso Rabada bowls a low full toss but Gayle could not read it, another dot ball. Gayle gets off the mark with a single, retains strike. PBKS 18/1 after 4 overs
Kagiso Rabada into the attack. Parbhsimran Singh gets a single square of the wicket. Mayank Agarwal gets a single as well. He is yet to hit a boundary. WICKET! Prabhsimran tries to go over mid-off but Steve Smith puts in a dive to take the catch. Another disappointing score for Singh. He departs after scoring 12 runs from 16 balls. PBKS 17/1 after 3.3 overs
Ishant Sharma continues. Mayank Agarwal takes a single first ball square of the wicket. DROPPED! Avesh Khan dives to his front but drops the half chance. Prabhsimran Singh cut that one but finds the fielder. Reprieve for the wicketkeeper-batsman, just a single. SIX! Singh rubs salt on Sharma's wounds. He comes down the wicket and hits it over covers for a maximum. Swing and a miss from Singh, Sharma gives him a stare. Fuller delivery from Sharma but Singh mistimes, a dot ball. A single to end the over. PBKS 15/0 after 3 overs
Marcus Stoinis opens the bowling from the other end. Mayank Agarwal works it behind square and gets a single. Prabhsimran Singh gets off the mark with a single as well. Agarwal plays it towards mid-wicket, gets a quick single. Singh plays it towards third man, just a single. Two more singles from the over. PBKS 6/0 after 2 overs
Prabhsimran Singh opens the innings alongside Mayank Agarwal. This means Chris Gayle will bat at No.3 and Dawid Malan at No.4. Ishant Sharma opens the bowling for Delhi Capitals and absolutely gives no chance to Prabhsimran to score off him. Ishant opens the bowling with a maiden over. PBKS 0/0 after 1 over
It's sad and we are gonna miss him (KL Rahul) but it is what it is. We have to go out and play good cricket. We won the last game we played, so we are high on confidence. I can hope that it gets a little lower and slower as the game progresses. But it's good to set target and then defend it. (On captaining) Really looking forward to the responsibility, we have spoken about going out there, enjoying ourselves, playing some fierce and aggressive cricket with smile on our faces. We've got Malan in for Pooran.
Dawid Malan finally makes his IPL debut. Malan has scored 1,003 runs from 24 T20I matches at an average of 50.15 including one century and 10 half-centuries. In T20s overall, he has 6,265 runs from 228 games including five centuries and 36 half-centuries.
PBKS XI: Prabhsimran Singh(w), Mayank Agarwal(c), Chris Gayle, Dawid Malan, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Chris Jordan, Riley Meredith, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami
DC XI: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Steven Smith, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan
Rishabh Pant wins toss and opts to field first. Mayank Agarwal is the new captain for Punjab Kings. Also, Dawid Malan makes his IPL debut today.
Harpreet Brar and Ravi Kishnoi will be the key bowlers against Delhi Capitals. However, it will be interesting to see whether Punjab Kings include both in the side against DC as they have four left-handed batsmen in Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer and Axar Patel.
Nicholas Pooran has struggled in the tournament with a string of poor scores. With KL Rahul out of the side, Punjab Kings need an opener or a No.3 batsman and the No.1 T20I batsman fits the bill. Malan can make his T20I debut against Delhi Capitals.