TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsThe Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala is undoubtedly one of the most picturesque grounds in the world. The Himalayan backdrop can take you for a ride of its own, but what makes the venue even more poised is the contrasting conditions on offer - often pacy and sometimes sluggish.
The surge provides a heavy differential to the cause, especially knowing this has been a relaid wicket - an untested one at that - the preparation resulted in the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy match between India and Australia being shifted to Indore. It is also a moment of glory for Indian cricket to witness the stadium being decorated to host IPL once again after a gap of 10 years.
Punjab Kings have made Dharamsala their second home base this year, but rarely has there been a situation where both teams are uncertain, not knowing what is on offer and how to tackle it. Delhi Capitals were the first team to be eliminated and a loss here for Punjab Kings would also mean the end of the road for them.
But if Delhi spoil Punjab's party on Wednesday, then we have an interesting situation lined up at the top, with six teams fighting for the remaining three playoffs spots. That would create a dilemma for the likes of RCB and LSG, but if IPL were that predictable, it wouldn’t have been the best T20 league in the world.
Things to look forward to
Can Livingstone ace the spin challenge?
Having Liam Livingstone in the middle order sorts many things out for any T20 side, but this season, Punjab Kings haven’t seen the burly Englishman in full flow, which invariably resulted in their dwindling fortunes. Barring that smashing 82 against Mumbai Indians, Livingstone is yet to arrive in the IPL and the huge difference in his performance against pace and spin has caused the maximum damage.
The Englishman has a 200+ strike rate against pace, but that drops to less than 100 SR against spin, which is the biggest difference for a batter in IPL 2023. His strike rate of 208 and balls per boundary rate of 3.1 is amongst the best for a batter against pace in IPL 2023. Meanwhile, he has averaged just 13 with an SR of 89, which is amongst the lowest this season. If he doesn’t stand up yet again, Delhi can hope to sneak through and be the party pooper.
Delhi’s middle-overs struggle cause of concern
For Delhi Capitals, this has been a season to forget. No batter has had an exceptional season, nor has their bowlers made it a point to save them from blushes. The middle-order batters, who were supposed to hold the base, have failed to rise to the occasion. They have the least average among teams in IPL 2023. This season, they also have the lowest run rate and highest balls per boundary.
It has had a direct ripple effect on their middle-over performance as well as they have the lowest run rate in overs 7 to 15 in IPL 2023. They have also lost the second most wickets in this phase this season. Apart from Axar Patel, who averages 31.5 at a strike rate of 137 in the middle overs, the quartet of Manish Pandey, Rilee Rossouw, Aman Khan, and Sarfaraz Khan have disastrous performances in that phase.
Is there a reckoning awaiting them? David Warner had said they would play for pride, but if their middle order doesn’t stand up, that pride may as well be quashed to the bottle.
Ground Details
The Indian Premier League is returning to Dharamsala after a gap of 10 years. There have been a lot of expectations for sure, but the ground has been relaid recently; hence the nature of the wicket is vehemently unknown. Overall, in the past, the small boundaries at Dharamsala, along with the dew factor, has more often than not encouraged the captains to chase here, with the captains choosing to bowl the first nine out of 12 T20s since 2017. Moreover, chasing teams have emerged victorious on eight occasions.
In T20s played here since 2017, the average first innings score stands at 136/7, despite the small boundaries at the stadium. However, in the two T20Is game, the average score has been 165/5, which is still decent.
Pacers have taken more wickets at a better strike rate than spinners in T20s since 2017. Two T20Is were played at this venue since 2020, and pacers have taken more wickets than spinners at a better strike rate in both matches.
This venue often used to act as a second home venue for Punjab Kings in IPL till 2013, when the franchise played 9 matches and has a win % of more than 50%. On the other hand, Delhi Capitals have won just one out of three IPL matches at this venue.
Tactical Nous
Prabhsimran Singh played his best IPL knock against Delhi Capitals in their last encounter, scoring his second T20 century despite scoring just 27 runs in the first 30 balls. With Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav being DC’s prime bowlers, Prabhsimran would be licking his lips knowing he has a good strike rate of 160 against spinners.
The Punjab opener has scored at an outstanding rate against spin and has scored at balls per boundary ratio of 4.3, with nearly 70% of runs coming against spin in IPL 2023. But Delhi pacers can try to exploit him on the good length region, which has been an issue for him. He has an SR of just 90 at that length and has been dismissed six times this IPL.
Team combination
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Delhi Capitals: David Warner (c), Philip Salt (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Rilee Rossouw, Aman Hakim Khan, Axar Patel, Praveen Dubey, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar
