Punjab will take on table-toppers in Dubai to pull off another comeback in Indian T20 League 2020.
Match Timings: Oct 20, 7:30 PM
Team Preview
The magnificent comeback on Sunday with a double super over success, Punjab woke up in the second half with back-to-back victories. Shami-Jordan’s exceptional bowling at super over, followed by the finishing from Gayle and Mayank Agarwal guided Punjab to snatch vital 2 points. With 5 more games to go, KL Rahul can back his unit to pull off a sensational comeback to crack playoffs code. They know the equation and they just need to make a self-belief to get over the line. Maxwell’s form is still a worrying sign and he might be dropped to get Neesham and Cottrell in the XI. Punjab defeated two top sides in previous games while chasing. This is the ultimate motivation for Rahul-led side to surprise Delhi on Tuesday. Some good days can lead Punjab in the middle of the table after the end of this week. The win against Mumbai boosted their mind and delivered a ray of positivity in the dressing room.
Meanwhile, Delhi retained their top spot after Mumbai’s defeat to Punjab on Sunday. They are also coming off a nail-biting victory over Chennai, riding on Axar Patel’s heroics and Dhawan’s maiden ton. The middle-order might be solved as Pant is expected to feature in the XI after recovering from the injury. In a couple of games, the top-order is tested and Delhi got questions on Prithvi Shaw and Rahane. The spinning duo is doing wonders and Tushar Deshpande is also not disappointing. With Rabada and Nortje, Delhi have the finest pace unit who can snatch the victory from the jaws of the defeat. This game is more important to Punjab. For Delhi, victory will book their place in the playoffs for a consecutive year.
Pitch Report
Dubai’s surface is a decent T20 surface as it provides the same amount of help to batsmen in both innings. Chasing is a tricky call but not so difficult if the top-order gives a good start. Spinners can control the runs in middle-overs and pacers can trouble with the new ball.
Possible XI
Punjab
KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
Delhi
Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane/Shimron Hetmyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Tushar Deshpande, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje
Key Players
Punjab
KL Rahul
This season – M: 9, Runs: 525, Avg: 75
Mayank Agarwal
This season – M: 9, Runs: 393, Avg: 43.67
Delhi
Shikhar Dhawan
This season – M: 9, Runs: 359, Avg: 51.29
Shreyas Iyer
This season – M: 9, Runs: 321, Avg: 40.12
