Big picture
The Kings XI Punjab's IPL campaign is well and truly back on track. And despite their nerve-wrangling win over the Mumbai Indians after a double-Super Over having ended late on Sunday, they must be eager to front up against table-toppers the Delhi Capitals, themselves victors in a dramatic finish over the weekend against the Chennai Super Kings.
The Kings XI's three wins from nine games is nowhere near an accurate description of how they have played at times. They controlled large parts of a few matches they contrived to lose - their season-opener against the Capitals, which they lost in a Super Over, is one of three games they would look back at as ones they ought to have won. And with the mid-table traffic not far behind the top-four places, all it will take is a couple of wins from here to get into serious playoffs contention. Chris Gayle's inclusion in the line-up has added a delicate but vital balance, freeing up captain KL Rahul to bat more freely in the powerplay to cash in on his run of fantastic form.
But the Capitals, understandably, provide a substantial hurdle. With Rishabh Pant having started training, his return from a hamstring injury must be around the corner, but even without him, the batting has been helmed excellently by Shikhar Dhawan, fresh off his maiden IPL century. Their chief driving force is arguably the league's most balanced bowling attack, with spinners R Ashwin and Axar Patel perfectly complementing the heavy-metal pace duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, with Tushar Deshpande settling in nicely.
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Previous meeting
If there have been some incredible finishes this season, the mould was set in place when these teams met in the season's second game at the same venue. The Capitals slumped to 13 for 3, but then were hauled to 157 for 8, principally on the back of Marcus Stoinis' 53 off 21. Ashwin rocked the Kings XI chase with two wickets in one over, but then Agarwal (89) brought the scores level off Stoinis' last over, with three balls to spare. A dot ball, and two wickets later, we had the season's first Super Over, where Rabada went 2, W, W and the Capitals pulled off a win that had looked improbable just 15 minutes earlier.
Likely XIs
Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Tushar Deshpande, 10 Kagiso Rabada 11 Anrich Nortje
Kings XI Punjab: 1 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Chris Jordan, 8 M Ashwin, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Arshdeep Singh
Strategy punts
Since the Capitals have two fingerspinners with great records against their top-order batsmen, the Kings XI could consider splitting up the successful Rahul-Agarwal partnership by having Gayle open with Rahul. This would also leave them with the option of keeping either Agarwal or Pooran as floaters to maintain the right-left combination at the crease. Gayle might also relish taking on the pace on offer from Rabada and Nortje more than walking in during the middle overs. A lot could depend on the conditions as well as whether the Kings XI bat first or chase.
Stats that matter
The Delhi franchise has been Rahul's least favourite opponents in terms of sheer numbers - he averages 24.5 in eight innings against them and it's the only team against which his average dips below 37. However, in 2018, he did score a 14-ball 50 to set up a successful run chase.
The Capitals have had seven different players winning the Player of the Match awards for their seven victories - Stoinis, Shaw, Iyer, Patel, Ashwin, Nortje and Dhawan. Rabada, Purple Cap-holder with 19 wickets, is yet to win one.
In 16 matches in Dubai at this IPL, pace has provided more wickets on an average, but spin has kept the opposition in check better. While the fast men have picked up 113 wickets at an economy of 8.6, the corresponding figures for spin are 61 and 7.7.
Glenn Maxwell needs another 45 runs to bring up 1500 IPL runs.
Dhawan needs 62 runs to bring up 5000 runs in the IPL.
This will be Ajinkya Rahane's 200th T20 match if he is picked.