"What we talk about around this group, is never being beaten, right, and keeping ourselves in the contest and we did that magnificently tonight. In fact, up until about the 16th over mark, I thought we had them, and that says a lot about us as a group. No matter how badly we play, until they hit the winning run, we are never out of the game."

 

Ricky Ponting sure knows how to conduct a session of ‘Motivation 101’ after a narrow loss. In our previous game against RR, David Miller and Chris Morris took the match away with stellar batting towards the latter half of their innings. But the fight our bowlers put up to almost snatch a win with a modest total on the board was a commendable effort. As our head coach said in the dressing room after the match, 'Chin up, boys!', because the next match is the much-awaited Northern Derby in Mumbai!

The Punjab Kings had a nightmare of a game against the Super Kings, which means both the teams will be going into this encounter eager to get their second win on the board.

 

The results of our last 5 matches have read L W L W L, which means our next game is going to be a… ? Hopefully, the pattern continues, just for this game though!




The Boon of the Chase

 

Wankhede, usually a batsman's paradise and a high-scoring venue, has behaved a little differently so far this season. However, it has still been beneficial to the chasing teams in the previous matches. In four games, the teams chasing have won thrice. The second innings has been in the batsmen's favour with an average strike rate of 143.72, the second highest in a single IPL edition. No doubt the toss will play a massive role.


The Protea Fire is Back for DC

 

Kagiso Rabada got out of quarantine and was able to play his first game of the season against RR, but he was missing his partner in crime, Anrich Nortje.

Having turned a false positive, Anrich Nortje then returned three negative tests and joined his squad for practice ahead of the third game of the season against PBKS. If he plays and joins his fellow countryman in the DC pace attack, be sure to keep an eye on the bottom of your TV screens to check the speeds!



Stat Attack

 

Our Captain ‘Pantastic’ will be geared and ready behind the wickets to pull off any screamers, just like one he pulled of in the last game to dismiss the dangerous Jos Buttler. He’s 3 catches away from 50 grabs in the IPL and 6 away from 50 catches as a wicket-keeper in the IPL. He’ll be the first to achieve this feat for DC in the competition.

 

Prithvi Shaw didn’t stand out in the previous game against RR but will want to turn it around against PBKS. He is exactly 100 runs away from reach 1000 runs in IPL. Ajinkya ‘Jinks’ Rahane didn’t have a great outing against his former outfit, but he’ll be raring to get back among the runs soon. The veteran is 59 runs away from reaching 4000 IPL runs.

 

In the bowling department, Ashwin delivered a good 3 overs and gave away just 14 runs against RR. However, he will look for the wicket that eluded him against Punjab to mark his 250th T20 game with his 250th T20 wicket too.




Twitter Chatter

 



Hoping for some Protea Fire too 🔥🤞🏻



We already are 😎



Key Battles

Ravichandran Ashwin vs Chris Gayle

One of the most entertaining battles, this one has a long history dating back a decade. The most memorable one came in the 2011 IPL Final when Ashwin, playing for CSK, managed to best Gayle who played for RCB then. More often than not, it’s the ‘Master’ who has come out victorious against the Universe Boss. In 9 innings, Ashwin has gotten rid of the big man 5 times while Gayle has only managed to score 51 runs against the off-spinner at a Strike Rate of 83.60.


Chris Woakes vs KL Rahul

Chris Woakes has a knack of picking up the openers early, and he has done so in both the previous encounters. It will go a long way in helping us win the encounter if Woakes can knock over Captain Punjab before he gets going.


Kagiso Rabada vs Nicholas Pooran

Pooran has had a torrid time in the IPL so far, having gotten out for ducks in both his outings. However, his ability to turn the game around in the middle and death overs is no secret, and it will be up to Rabada and his partners in crime at the death to make sure he doesn’t run away with it against DC.


The circumstances have led to the Northern Derby being played at the West Coast, at the Wankhede in Mumbai, but the intensity between these two rival sides is going to be as high as ever. The fans from both sides will be looking forward to a crackerjack of a contest. If the teams can put up a thriller half as good as the one we witnessed when these two teams met in our season opener in IPL 2020, we’re in for a treat.