Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal has won the toss and elected to bowl first against Delhi Capitals in match 64 of IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium on Monday.
Both teams have 12 points from as many matches but Delhi are placed ahead of Punjab due to a positive net run rate. Whoever wins today will go past Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on the basis of net run rate though level on points.
After winning the toss, Agarwal said Punjab are unchanged from their 54-run win over Bangalore. "I don't think the wicket is going to change much and last time we played there was dew, that's why we would like to bowl and have that advantage when we are chasing."
Agarwal felt Punjab have finally found the right combination of the playing eleven as the race to playoffs intensifies. "We have definitely found the right combinations and with the batting we have used whoever we can at different positions, it is working well and have batted well in the last 2-3 games."
"It is important to take it is just another game, obviously every game from hereon is important but we are still looking to focus on the process and looking to play the kind of cricket we want."
Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant said left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed had recovered from a hamstring injury and replaces Chetan Sakariya in the playing eleven apart from Sarfaraz Khan coming in place of KS Bharat.
"I think we were looking to bowl but the toss is not in our control. I think the only thing we were focusing on was how to prepare for the match. Yes, there were so many things going around but as a captain I can make sure, talking to the players, that they won't be thinking about all this," stated Pant.
The last time these two teams met, Delhi had skittled out Punjab for just 115 and chased down the total in 10.3 overs to win by nine wickets at the Brabourne Stadium.
Playing XI
Delhi Capitals: David Warner, Sarfaraz Khan, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Lalit Yadav, Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed
Punjab Kings: Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Mayank Agarwal(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
