The IPL 2024 has commenced and in the second match of the competition, Punjab Kings are all set to take on Delhi Capitals. A big match considering it will be the comeback match of Rishabh Pant who stayed out of action for more than a year since his accident in December 2022.
this will be the first IPL match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium at Mullanpur, Chandigarh which will serve as the home ground of Punjab Kings for the upcoming IPL.
Staying away from the title for 16 seasons has made both the teams filled with hunger and as a result both sides are all set to clash head on with increased intensity, trying to secure two points and a good start going forward in the season.
Home side Punjab Kings finished 8th in the IPL points table last season. They had an exciting squad but failed to deliver consistently on several key occasions. Captain Shikhar Dhawan had fitness issues and Jonny Bairstow missed the entire season, which meant PBKS couldn’t capitalise on the performances of Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma and Atharva Taide.
The seam bowling department also failed to deliver as both Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh ended up having a very high economy. Bairstow is back this time and they have added Harshal Patel up to their ranks in the bowling. They will hope to see sparks of the changes as soon as the first match against DC.
Delhi Capitals had a rather poor season as they finished second last from the bottom. Captain Rishabh Pant was injured, which meant David Warner took lead the squad. Although he gave his best of efforts, they squad lacked intensity throughout the competition, often finding themselves in troubled positions following batting collapses.
Although the spinners did well and showed promise, the pace attack leaked runs and it didn’t end up helping the rather underperforming batting. DC are much well-prepared this time with Pant back. They also have Tristan Stubbs, Kumar Kushagra and Swastik Chikkara added upto their ranks who can change the game on their own. DC will want to bury the ghosts of the past with a solid win against PBKS.