Delhi and Punjab start their Indian T20 League 2020 campaign in Sunday’s clash in Dubai.
Team Preview
Delhi and Punjab square off in their opening encounter of the Indian T20 League 2020 on Sunday night. Both sides are searching their maiden trophy. Punjab came close to the trophy in 2014 but suffered a close defeat to Gambhir’s Kolkata. Delhi changed their franchise’s name and they had a splendid season last year under Shreyas Iyer but lost to Chennai in the playoffs. Ponting has worked very well on Delhi’s team and the side looks pretty compact. From the last year’s auction, Delhi bought two Australian players Stoinis and Carey who had a terrific season in Big Bash and international cricket. Ashwin and Rahane joined Delhi under the season transfer. They have two quality overseas bowlers Rabada and Lamichhane to lead the pace and spin attack. In the batting unit, Delhi’s side is more balanced than any team. This is the season, they can aim for the title victory.
Meanwhile, Punjab will be led by their new captain KL Rahul who is having a form of his life with the bat in international cricket. He had a terrific season last year. Gayle might be dropped and Mayank Agrawal will open for Punjab along with Rahul. The new signings Maxwell and West Indian star Pooran will play the sheet anchors and finishers for the franchise. They have Gautham and Hooda at the end who can play cameos and give some bowling options in middle-overs. The bowling department is not as effective as Delhi. They have top-class spinner Mujeeb and Indian pacer Shami. The new singings Cottrell and Chris Jordan can also make a way for Punjab in death-overs. The young Bishnoi is also a surprise package on UAE’s spinning tracks.
Pitch Report
Dubai International Cricket Stadium hosted last year’s T20 WC qualifier matches and the surface is a decent T20 track. It offers the same amount of help to batsmen and bowlers. Spinners can take advantage from the pitch. Being the first game on this ground, the surface would be helpful for batting.
Possible XI
Delhi
Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis/Alex Carey, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Sandeep Lamichhane, Ishant Sharma
Punjab
KL Rahul (c&wk), Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Sheldon Cottrell/Chris Jordan, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb ur Rahman
Key Players
Delhi
Kagiso Rabada
Last season – M: 12, Wickets: 25, SR: 11.3
Rishabh Pant
Last season – M: 15, Runs: 488, Avg: 37.53, SR: 162.66
Punjab
KL Rahul
Last season – M: 14, Runs: 593 Avg: 53.90, SR: 162.66
Mujeeb ur Rahman
Caribbean T20 League 2020 – M: 11, Wickets: 16, Avg: 13.56
