Punjab narrowly escaped in their first match as they held Rajasthan Royals despite a sublime Sanju Samson century. In the game against CSK though, they were completely derailed and could not stand up to some excellent swing bowling from Deepak Chahar. Both sides would be seeking consistency going into their third game of the season.
In the batting Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan excelled in the first match but perished cheaply in the second. They would be keen to get among the runs again. Ajinkya Rahane was outfoxed by Jaydev Unadkat against RR while Marcus Stoinis has registered two failures in a row with the bat. This is an area DC will have to look at. They will be pleased with the form of skipper Rishabh Pant, who has looked in sublime touch.
As for their bowling, the threatening pair of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje look set to be reunited as the latter’s COVID-19 report confusion has been settled. With Nortje returning, the struggling Tom Curran looks set to be dropped. Avesh Khan and Chris Woakes were impressive with the ball against RR even in defeat.
Punjab excelled with the bat against RR as KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda ran riot. But the same batting line-up came a cropper against Deepak Chahar, who ran through the top and middle order. Punjab would like to put the disaster behind them and start afresh. They would be buoyed by the batting of Shahrukh Khan, who gave a good account of himself against CSK.
There was really not much the bowlers could have done with little to defend against CSK. Mohammed Shami though was impressive with a couple of wickets. With both Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith failing to make an impact, Punjab may bring back the experience of Chris Jordan.
Predicted XIs
DC: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (C & WK), Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan
PBKS: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (C & WK), Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan/Riley Meredith, Arshdeep Singh
--Renin Wilben Albert