IPL 2021 Match 11 – Delhi Capitals v Punjab Kings Betting Preview

IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals v Punjab Kings – Preview, Prediction, Probable Playing XIs and Value Bets

Match Details
Delhi Capitals v Punjab Kings
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Sunday, April 18th, 2021
16:00 SA Time

Betting Preview

The tenth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) sees Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) taking on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday afternoon. The two teams have fought each other on 26 occasions with KKR having a slight edge with 14 victories. However, RCB defeated KKR in both the matches last year and are currently table toppers. They will head into the match as the favourites but KKR won’t back down easily.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have surprised everyone and have bagged 4 points in two matches. It’s the first time since 2014 that they have won their first two games of a season. The biggest plus point for RCB is Glenn Maxwell, who has played two impactful knocks so far. Maxwell powered RCB to a par total against SRH with an extraordinary knock of 59 off 41 on a difficult wicket, where everyone else apart from Warner struggled to score. Mohammed Siraj’s development has been impressive as well as Harshal Patel’s death overs bowling. Shahbaz Ahmed’s all-round skillset is another positive thing for RCB.

Kolkata Knight Riders have looked pretty decent this season barring their 5 overs of choking against Mumbai Indians, where they failed to score 31 off the last 5 overs. The way Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell looked helpless in those overs, could worry KKR. But apart from that, they were solid in both the departments in the first two matches. Eoin Morgan-led side was absolutely spot on with their planning and bowling changes against MI. Pat Cummins has done his new role of enforcer in the middle overs to good effect. Andre Russell’s death overs bowling is a huge plus for KKR. Dre Russ went on to pick a 5fer in 2 overs against MI.

Injury and Availability News

Punjab Kings will have all the players available for the match. Delhi Capitals’ Anrich Nortje has joined the team after testing negative for Covid-19 and will be available for selection.

Probable Playing XI

Delhi Capitals

Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav, Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan

Punjab Kings

Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Pat Cummins, Shakib Al Hassan, Harbhajan Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy

Pitch and Conditions

Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium has traditionally been a very good surface to bat on with assistance for the fast bowlers. This year, the venue has offered significant help for pace bowlers especially with the new ball. The average first innings score at Wankhede this year is 165.

Key Players to Watch Out For

Shikhar Dhawan: The DC southpaw is an outstanding form in the IPL in recent years. Dhawan has scored 712 runs since the start of IPL 2020 with an average of 47.5 and a strike rate of 144.7. Dhawan has shown excellent intent in the powerplay and has a terrific record against medium pacers. But how he will tackle the PBKS pacers will be interesting to see.

Anrich Nortje: The South African pacer has missed two matches in IPL 2021 because of the extended quarantine. He will be raring to go and make his pace wreak havoc. Anrich Nortje picked 22 scalps in the last edition. He unleashed his pace in the middle overs and at the death, picking 16 wickets in those phases. He’s coming into the tournament with some form on his side.

KL Rahul: The PBKS Skipper will be their most important batsman against DC. Considering the sheer pace DC pace attack possess and the vulnerability of other PBKS batsmen against it, the onus will be on Rahul to put up a good score. KL Rahul has 338 runs to his name at Wankhede Stadium with an average of 67.6 and a strike rate of 152.3.

Mohammed Shami: The leader of the PBKS pace attack has started well this season, picking up 4 wickets in two games at an impressive economy of 6.75. Shami has grown into a fine white-ball bowler in recent times. He’s been bowling at a good pace, extracting the movement and nailing yorkers at the death. Shami will have to put up a good show against DC’s strong top order.

What Bets To Take

Delhi Capitals

Shikhar Dhawan to be DC’s top batsman at 3.25.

Kagiso Rabada to be DC’s top bowler at 2.75.

Punjab Kings

KL Rahul to be PBKS’s top batsman at 2.90.

Mohammad Shami to be PBKS’s top bowler at 2.90.

Prediction: Delhi Capitals to win at 1.68.