It's Northern Derby time!

AS THINGS STAND

Our boys are at the 3rd position in the table but they would want to further strengthen it as they lock horns with rivals Punjab at Kotla on 20 April 2019.

The Kings XI have won 2 of their last 5 matches of IPL 2019 while we have emerged victorious 3 times in our previous 5 encounters.   

Mike Hesson and his troops have 10 points on board but are 1 place below us - at 4th position - as we have a better Net Run Rate.

The average 1st innings score at the pitch in Delhi is 161 (extrapolated over last 5 completed first innings in matches of IPL).

Both DC and KXIP have met each other 10 times at Feroz Shah Kotla. The head to head record at this venue is a perfect 5 wins for DC and 5 for KXIP. The opposition holds the edge in overall head to head record.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTER

Last time around in Mohali, Iyer and co. were chasing a total of 167 runs and It seemed like we would get there comfortably in the end as just 30 runs were required in 24 balls with 7 wickets in hand. However, as it turned out we ended up losing the match from a winning position.

The memories of that tough defeat against the Kings XI will still be fresh in the minds of our players and they would leave no stone unturned to avenge it at our home in Kotla.

FACT OF THE MATTER

After three away wins against RCB, KKR, and SRH, our boys faltered against Mumbai Indians at home. The practice pitches at Kotla are also slow and the boys have really trained hard to adapt to the slow conditions. However, we aim to get the winning formula right on our home turf tonight.

The upcoming match is extremely important to get the momentum back on our side. 2 points gained at this crucial juncture of the tournament hold a lot of importance as the race for the Top 4 tightens. We have just won 1 out of the 4 games played at Kotla. Ponting and his troops would look to make the fans proud when they paint Kotla Blue against Kings XI.

STAT GURU:

A) Head to Head:

Matches: 23

Won by Delhi Capitals: 9

Won by Kings XI Punjab: 14

Tied: 0|

B) Form Guide:

Delhi Capitals: L W W W L

Kings XI Punjab: W L L W L

C) Approaching Milestones:

3: Amit Mishra needs 3 more wickets to overtake Rubel Hossain as the 4th-most prolific T20 wicket-taker at a single venue. Mishra has 71 at the Kotla, Rubel Hossain has 73 at Mirpur.

19: More runs for Rishabh Pant to reach 1,000 T20 runs at the Kotla. He’ll be the second batsman to this landmark after Virender Sehwag (1199 runs).

THE GAME-CHANGERS

Kagiso Rabada has 19 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 14.57 and phenomenal strike rate of 11.05. His ability to bowl pin-point yorkers at the death has helped us in saving quite a few runs towards the end of the inning. Rabada will play a crucial role in the upcoming encounter.

Dismissing the in-form opening batsmen early on will do us a lot of good. The Protean would be looking to lead the bowling attack after proving to be a little on the expensive side in our defeat against MI in the previous match.

Amit Mishra bowled 3 overs in our previous game against MI. He bowled an economical spell and took the important wicket of Rohit Sharma to get the team going. The veteran spinner will look to find as much grip as he can on the pitch and create the maximum impact against Kings XI Punjab.

Shikhar Dhawan has scored 571 runs overall against the Punjab-based franchise. Gabbar has an average of 30.05 against them. He got off to a flying start against Mumbai Indians but could not convert it for the team. The situation calls for him to prove his experience once again by leading from the front.

Chris Gayle is the most dangerous batsman in the opposition team. The Universe Boss, as he is known, has been in scintillating form this season. The 39-year-old has amassed 352 runs in the 8 matches he has played. Gayle has a brilliant strike rate of 155.06 and a commendable average of 50.28 in IPL 2019. He has scored as many as 78.41% of his runs from boundaries.

KL Rahul has also played some fantastic knocks. The opener has a century and 4 fifties to his name already. He is currently in the 2nd position for the Orange Cap race, 63 runs behind David Warner of SRH.

Probable Starting XI:

Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Colin Munro, Axar Patel, Chris Morris, Amit Mishra, Sandeep Lamichhane, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada

Sandeep Lamichhane may be brought back into the team on a spin-friendly track. Introducing the Nepalese spinner back in the playing XI may just do the trick for our team.

As we head into our 10th game of the season, it’s time for you now to continue showing us your phenomenal support for our DC boys and together, #RoarMacha!