IPL 2018: Match 22, DD vs KXIP: Gautam Gambhir returns to Kotla as Delhi hosts Punjab

Must win match for Delhi Daredevils at home.

Delhi play their first game of the season at home.

An exciting match is in prospect as Gambhir Gambhir and his Daredevils returns home to play their first game of the season. Its a north Indian derby as Delhi hosts Kings XI Punjab at the Kotla. 

A battle between two teams at opposite ends of the points table, DD is in desperate need of a win to stay in the contention for the knockouts. 

Rishabh Pant shone for Delhi in their previous game against RCB in a losing cause. Gambhir and Roy are yet to fine tune their partnership up at the top. For Delhi, its yet again a game where the onus will be on Gambhir's captaincy and how he leads his team with the odds against them. 

Their bowling will get a lift when Mohd Shami comes back into the side in place of Harshal Patel. The rest of the bowling with Boult, Nadeem and Tewatia looks settled. 

Kings XI Punjab's journey so far in the IPL has been that of a fairy tale. Chris Gayle's induction to the side provided to be a huge boost for the side. His partnership with KL Rahul at the top seems to be doing wonders for the team. The bowling too looks settled with Ravi Ashwin leading them. Plus he has the likes of Mujeeb Ur Rahman to partner him from the other end. Andrew Tye and Barinder Sran gives a good look to their pace attack with Mohit Sharma as a good back up option. 

As far as team news from both camps are concerned, Mohammad Shami in place of Harshal Patel looks to be the only change in the DD XI. While Punjab as per reports will look to field the same XI as they did against KKR which resulted in a win. 

Playing conditions despite of an 8 pm start will be hot and humid.  No forecast of rain, with temperatures hovering around the late 20s in the evening. The pitch still remains a mystery with both teams reaching Delhi only one day before the game.

Toss 

Delhi Daredevils have won the toss and have opted to field

Playing XI 

Delhi Daredevils : Gautam Gambhir(c), Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant(w), Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Christian, Rahul Tewatia, Liam Plunkett, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult

Kings XI Punjab : Lokesh Rahul(w), Aaron Finch, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh, David Miller, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

 
 

By Anshuman Roy - 23 Apr, 2018

    Share Via