Indian T20 Cricket 2019: Can Delhi shrug off Kotla woes against Kings?

Tags: Indian T20 Cricket 2019, Rajasthan XI vs Mumbai XI, 36th Match at Jaipur, Apr 20, 2019, Rajasthan XI, Mumbai XI, t20, Delhi XI vs Punjab XI, 37th Match at Delhi, Apr 20, 2019

Published on: Apr 20, 2019

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The Feroz Shah Kotla surface will once again be the focus when hosts Delhi take on Punjab in the second match on Saturday. Delhi

The Feroz Shah Kotla surface will once again be the focus when hosts Delhi take on Punjab in the second match on Saturday. Delhi is perhaps the only side in Indian T20 Cricket who have struggled to capitalize on the home advantage as the pitch in Delhi has just not their suited their stroke-makers. This weakness of Delhi is exactly what Punjab will be trying to capitalize on.

Punjab, who overcame Rajasthan for a second time, and this time, without any controversy, in their previous match have the spinners who can exploit the conditions. There is skipper Ravichandran Ashwin himself apart from Mujeeb ur Rahman and Murugan Ashwin. Even in the pace department, they have the experienced Mohammed Shami and young Arshdeep Singh, who impressed in the previous game.

Punjab would be pleased with the way their batting is shaping up. While earlier, it seemed like a Chris Gayle-dominated batting outfit, Lokesh Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and David Miller have all made their presence felt of late. Rahul has been particularly impressed with his consistency and quick pace of scoring. In both the departments, Punjab seem to hold an advantage over Delhi.

For the hosts, their batsmen clearly need to get out of the mindset of the pitch. It is clear that the nature of the surface isn't going to change. But obviously, the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant. Each of them has played international cricket for the country, so it's really surprising to see them unable to adapt.

In the previous game, Delhi made the surprising move of playing Keemo Paul over Sandeep Lamichhane on a turning wicket. They went in with two spinners in Amit Mishra and Axar Patel, which could have cost them few crucial runs. Their bowling will need to find better teeth overall.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

Squads

Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Colin Ingram, Keemo Paul, Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Ishant Sharma, Colin Munro, Sandeep Lamichhane, Avesh Khan, Amit Mishra, Hanuma Vihari, Ankush Bains, Jalaj Saxena, Manjot Kalra, Sherfane Rutherford, Nathu Singh, Bandaru Ayyappa

Kings XI Punjab: Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ankit Rajpoot, Karun Nair, David Miller, Andrew Tye, Moises Henriques, Varun Chakravarthy, Murugan Ashwin, Simran Singh, Hardus Viljoen, Arshdeep Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Agnivesh Ayachi, Harpreet Brar

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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