Dilliwalon! We’ve finally reached the moment we have been waiting for since a long time. With less than 24 hours to go for the second match of the Dream11 IPL to be held at Dubai International Cricket stadium, we are as excited as you are to see our Skipper Shreyas lead our men in blue against the arch rivals from the north, Kings XI Punjab.
Perfect Battleground for Batsmen
With minimal grass covering on the pitch and humidity rising towards the end of the day at the Dubai International Cricket stadium, the venue possesses the exact sub-continent conditions making it homely for both the teams. Boundaries being shorter at some ends, the venue will be a paradise for massive hitters from both teams. With explosive batsmen like, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, this Northern Derby clash is bound to become one of the highest scoring matches of the tournament right at the beginning.
Shikhar Dhawan who played a pivotal role in our opening partnerships last season, will look to continue his explosive form. On the other hand, Prithvi Shaw will have a perfect platform to show his mammoth hitting skills in the Powerplay. With an exciting array of batsmen comprising of Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer in the middle, the onus is on us to show the strength of our batting unit this season.
Considering the previous games played at this venue, the pitch has always assisted the spinners and pacers in the first half. With dew coming into picture towards the sunset, bowlers will tend to lose the grip, thus resulting run leaks. Head Coach Ricky Ponting was in awe of the ‘extremely experienced’ spin line-up to put up a fight in batting friendly conditions.
“We saw how damaging Rabada was last year at the Kotla and that was a slow, low pitch. I think these wickets will probably be on the slower side but will offer a little more bounce. That suits guys like Rabada, Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan and Daniel Sams.”
- Head Coach Ricky Ponting on DC’s pace attack
Head Coach Ricky Ponting and Skipper Shreyas have a challenging task ahead in deciding our playing XI. With match winning heroes like Alex Carey, Daniel Sams, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and Sandeep Lamichhane returning after a great campaign in England and CPL respectively, and Protea pacers Rabada and Nortje showcasing their brute pace in the warm-up matches, the team management has a lot to ponder upon in choosing the 4 foreign slots.
Stat-Attack
The Sunday encounter is bound to be a platform for numerous milestones for our batters. Opener Shikhar Dhawan who had amassed 521 runs in the last season is just a fifty away to equal Suresh Raina’s record of being the first Indian to reach 38 IPL fifties. The Delhi southpaw is also just 4 sixes away from his milestone of 100 sixes. Following his Delhi counterpart, Rishabh Pant is just 6 sixes away from 100 IPL sixes. While the young blazing gun, Prithvi Shaw is just 28 runs away from 1000 runs in T20s, the experienced Ajinkya Rahane is 12 runs away from completing 5000 runs in T20.
With 19 out of 25 wickets coming in the death overs in the last season, Kagiso Rabada stands out to be one of the strongest death over-wicket takers with an impressive average of 10.58. With a pace upgrade in the form of Anrich Nortje, it would be interesting to see the Protea duo crush through the Kings XI Punjab batting line up. Powerplay specialist and one of the greatest deceivers with the slow ball, Mohit Sharma has his best bowling figures of 4-14 at this venue during the 2014 season. With addition of experience from the ace pacer Ishant Sharma and new-comers Tushar Deshpande and Avesh Khan, DC’s fast bowling armoury clearly looks promising. DC’s most experienced spinner Amit Mishra stands just 3 wickets away from his tally of 100 wickets for a team. The Sunday encounter would be serving as a platform for Amit Mishra to become the 7th bowler to pick 100 wickets for a team in IPL.
Here’s what cricketing experts across the world had to say about Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2020:
Changes begin. @DelhiCapitals make a good change. They always had too many top order batsmen and Roy was unlikely to play much. Daniel Sams provides a good left handed bowling option.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 27, 2020
The Way too early @IPL power rankings for 2020
— Scott Styris (@scottbstyris) September 14, 2020
1) @DelhiCapitals
2) @mipaltan
3) @KKRiders
4) @ChennaiIPL
5)@SunRisers
6) @RCBTweets
7)@lionsdenkxip
8) @rajasthanroyals
Thoughts ?
With the @IPL kicking off tonight who’s your pick for 2020 champions? 🏆 #Dream11IPL
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) September 19, 2020
My top 4 prediction @mipaltan @DelhiCapitals @SunRisers @lionsdenkxip
"Delhi Capitals will be in the top four and are actually my title contenders. This could be their year if they play to their potential. Shreyas Iyer will their outstanding player in IPL 2020, he will score runs, do captaincy and make his team win,”
-Akash Chopra in his recent #AakashVani video on Facebook
Our fans are ready to roar blue as well!
DC v KXIP. The underrated rivalry in IPL. #NorthernDerby
— Vasu Vashisht (@vasu_vashisht12) September 17, 2020
HIgh Chances For @DelhiCapitals https://t.co/GPYQiP3Zn4
— ` (@WeirddTweetz) September 19, 2020
Flair & talent was there last year as well But they actually have a very decent chance this year with the addition of jinx and ash imo
— Bilal Cheema (@Baalii) September 19, 2020
Key clashes to look out for:
Ashwin vs Gayle
Chris Gayle who has been struggling with the spin off late would have a tough time in decoding the spin variations from the Spin King, R Ashwin. Chris Gayle has been dismissed 4 times in 8 clashes with just 49 runs leaked. In a recent Instagram LIVE, the spin maestro confessed how he enjoyed bowling against the explosive left hander. “If you hit me for a six, I try and stay as attacking as possible, and I knocked over Jesse Ryder with an arm ball the very next ball. Likewise, I imagined something for Chris, and it worked. I could not believe it myself. One of the finest three-ball sets that I have bowled in my career,” the 33-year-old spoke about his 2011 IPL final heroics.
Mishra vs Maxwell
Amit Mishra who has dismissed Glenn Maxwell 4 times in their 5 meetings, poses a great threat to the Australian big hitter. Maxwell who was out of action for a while will have a tough task ahead in reading Mishi’s wrong ones on a spin-assisting track.
Rabada vs Rahul
Kagiso Rabada who finished second among the purple cap holders last season, will pose a challenging threat to KXIP skipper KL Rahul. Rahul who had a tough time against Yorkers during the Australian tours in the past, will have a mammoth task to deal with the toe crushing yorkers from the Protea speedster.
Rahane vs Shami
With a stupendous strike rate of 172 against Mohammed Shami, Ajinkya Rahane is clearly winning the battle against KXIP’s most experienced pacer. Rahane, who is yet to be dismissed by Shami in 7 innings, has piled 86 runs in just 50 balls faced against him
Dhawan vs Shami
Just like his right-handed counterpart, Shikhar Dhawan boasts a great record against Mohammed Shami with an impressive strike rate of 150. In 7 encounters, Dhawan who is yet to be dismissed by the pacer, has scored 45 runs in just 30 balls.
Following the new normal this IPL, the greatest part that will be missed in the rivalry would be the roar of our fans in #QilaKotla! We will miss the sea of blue cheering for each Pant’s six and each of Rabada’s deliveries rattling the stumps. As our Fielding coach Mohammed Kaif said in a recent interview, DC stars would always be in forefront to deliver their best performances that would pull out a smile among all fans!
Dilliwalon, get ready to roar Blue!
#NeelaPehenKeDekhna hai aur banana hai #HarGharQilaKotla!
Dilliwalon! We’ve finally reached the moment we have been waiting for since a long time. With less than 24 hours to go for the second match of the Dream11 IPL to be held at Dubai International Cricket stadium, we are as excited as you are to see our Skipper Shreyas lead our men in blue against the arch rivals from the north, Kings XI Punjab.
Perfect Battleground for Batsmen
With minimal grass covering on the pitch and humidity rising towards the end of the day at the Dubai International Cricket stadium, the venue possesses the exact sub-continent conditions making it homely for both the teams. Boundaries being shorter at some ends, the venue will be a paradise for massive hitters from both teams. With explosive batsmen like, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, this Northern Derby clash is bound to become one of the highest scoring matches of the tournament right at the beginning.
Shikhar Dhawan who played a pivotal role in our opening partnerships last season, will look to continue his explosive form. On the other hand, Prithvi Shaw will have a perfect platform to show his mammoth hitting skills in the Powerplay. With an exciting array of batsmen comprising of Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer in the middle, the onus is on us to show the strength of our batting unit this season.
Considering the previous games played at this venue, the pitch has always assisted the spinners and pacers in the first half. With dew coming into picture towards the sunset, bowlers will tend to lose the grip, thus resulting run leaks. Head Coach Ricky Ponting was in awe of the ‘extremely experienced’ spin line-up to put up a fight in batting friendly conditions.
“We saw how damaging Rabada was last year at the Kotla and that was a slow, low pitch. I think these wickets will probably be on the slower side but will offer a little more bounce. That suits guys like Rabada, Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan and Daniel Sams.”
- Head Coach Ricky Ponting on DC’s pace attack
Head Coach Ricky Ponting and Skipper Shreyas have a challenging task ahead in deciding our playing XI. With match winning heroes like Alex Carey, Daniel Sams, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and Sandeep Lamichhane returning after a great campaign in England and CPL respectively, and Protea pacers Rabada and Nortje showcasing their brute pace in the warm-up matches, the team management has a lot to ponder upon in choosing the 4 foreign slots.
Stat-Attack
The Sunday encounter is bound to be a platform for numerous milestones for our batters. Opener Shikhar Dhawan who had amassed 521 runs in the last season is just a fifty away to equal Suresh Raina’s record of being the first Indian to reach 38 IPL fifties. The Delhi southpaw is also just 4 sixes away from his milestone of 100 sixes. Following his Delhi counterpart, Rishabh Pant is just 6 sixes away from 100 IPL sixes. While the young blazing gun, Prithvi Shaw is just 28 runs away from 1000 runs in T20s, the experienced Ajinkya Rahane is 12 runs away from completing 5000 runs in T20.
With 19 out of 25 wickets coming in the death overs in the last season, Kagiso Rabada stands out to be one of the strongest death over-wicket takers with an impressive average of 10.58. With a pace upgrade in the form of Anrich Nortje, it would be interesting to see the Protea duo crush through the Kings XI Punjab batting line up. Powerplay specialist and one of the greatest deceivers with the slow ball, Mohit Sharma has his best bowling figures of 4-14 at this venue during the 2014 season. With addition of experience from the ace pacer Ishant Sharma and new-comers Tushar Deshpande and Avesh Khan, DC’s fast bowling armoury clearly looks promising. DC’s most experienced spinner Amit Mishra stands just 3 wickets away from his tally of 100 wickets for a team. The Sunday encounter would be serving as a platform for Amit Mishra to become the 7th bowler to pick 100 wickets for a team in IPL.
Here’s what cricketing experts across the world had to say about Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2020:
Changes begin. @DelhiCapitals make a good change. They always had too many top order batsmen and Roy was unlikely to play much. Daniel Sams provides a good left handed bowling option.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 27, 2020
The Way too early @IPL power rankings for 2020
— Scott Styris (@scottbstyris) September 14, 2020
1) @DelhiCapitals
2) @mipaltan
3) @KKRiders
4) @ChennaiIPL
5)@SunRisers
6) @RCBTweets
7)@lionsdenkxip
8) @rajasthanroyals
Thoughts ?
With the @IPL kicking off tonight who’s your pick for 2020 champions? 🏆 #Dream11IPL
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) September 19, 2020
My top 4 prediction @mipaltan @DelhiCapitals @SunRisers @lionsdenkxip
"Delhi Capitals will be in the top four and are actually my title contenders. This could be their year if they play to their potential. Shreyas Iyer will their outstanding player in IPL 2020, he will score runs, do captaincy and make his team win,”
-Akash Chopra in his recent #AakashVani video on Facebook
Our fans are ready to roar blue as well!
DC v KXIP. The underrated rivalry in IPL. #NorthernDerby
— Vasu Vashisht (@vasu_vashisht12) September 17, 2020
HIgh Chances For @DelhiCapitals https://t.co/GPYQiP3Zn4
— ` (@WeirddTweetz) September 19, 2020
Flair & talent was there last year as well But they actually have a very decent chance this year with the addition of jinx and ash imo
— Bilal Cheema (@Baalii) September 19, 2020
Key clashes to look out for:
Ashwin vs Gayle
Chris Gayle who has been struggling with the spin off late would have a tough time in decoding the spin variations from the Spin King, R Ashwin. Chris Gayle has been dismissed 4 times in 8 clashes with just 49 runs leaked. In a recent Instagram LIVE, the spin maestro confessed how he enjoyed bowling against the explosive left hander. “If you hit me for a six, I try and stay as attacking as possible, and I knocked over Jesse Ryder with an arm ball the very next ball. Likewise, I imagined something for Chris, and it worked. I could not believe it myself. One of the finest three-ball sets that I have bowled in my career,” the 33-year-old spoke about his 2011 IPL final heroics.
Mishra vs Maxwell
Amit Mishra who has dismissed Glenn Maxwell 4 times in their 5 meetings, poses a great threat to the Australian big hitter. Maxwell who was out of action for a while will have a tough task ahead in reading Mishi’s wrong ones on a spin-assisting track.
Rabada vs Rahul
Kagiso Rabada who finished second among the purple cap holders last season, will pose a challenging threat to KXIP skipper KL Rahul. Rahul who had a tough time against Yorkers during the Australian tours in the past, will have a mammoth task to deal with the toe crushing yorkers from the Protea speedster.
Rahane vs Shami
With a stupendous strike rate of 172 against Mohammed Shami, Ajinkya Rahane is clearly winning the battle against KXIP’s most experienced pacer. Rahane, who is yet to be dismissed by Shami in 7 innings, has piled 86 runs in just 50 balls faced against him
Dhawan vs Shami
Just like his right-handed counterpart, Shikhar Dhawan boasts a great record against Mohammed Shami with an impressive strike rate of 150. In 7 encounters, Dhawan who is yet to be dismissed by the pacer, has scored 45 runs in just 30 balls.
Following the new normal this IPL, the greatest part that will be missed in the rivalry would be the roar of our fans in #QilaKotla! We will miss the sea of blue cheering for each Pant’s six and each of Rabada’s deliveries rattling the stumps. As our Fielding coach Mohammed Kaif said in a recent interview, DC stars would always be in forefront to deliver their best performances that would pull out a smile among all fans!
Dilliwalon, get ready to roar Blue!
#NeelaPehenKeDekhna hai aur banana hai #HarGharQilaKotla!
