Eye on the prize
While many of the Indian cities observed a 10-minute ‘blackout’, the HPCA Stadium was shining bright under floodlights, a day ahead of the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals.
Amid rumours of rescheduling of the IPL matches at Dharamsala due to closure of the Kangra-Gaggal airport and concerns over using the floodlights owing to security threat, the Kings carried out a training session at their second home ground in the evening. The Capitals opted for a gym training session, considering the continuous rain in the afternoon.
The practice sessions were postponed by almost two hours. While speculations of the match’s cancellation were doing the rounds, coaches of both the teams reached the venue to confirm the match would go on. However, with the escalating tension between India and Pakistan and rain expected on Thursday, the game will be held in less than ideal conditions.
Delhi Capitals will be desperate to return to winning ways and stay in contention for the playoffs. The side has endured three losses and a no-result due to rain in their last five games.
“We just can’t deny the slump. We are definitely working on it, and the coming matches are very important for us,” said head coach Hemang Badani. “We won four matches and that too against strong teams.”
In the last match, their top-order collapsed and if it was not for Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma, the side could have been bowled out for less than 100.
On the other hand, Punjab Kings come into the game fresh from their heroics against Lucknow Super Giants here. The Kings are looking for another home win — especially amid rumours that their next game against Mumbai Indians could be shifted out of here — to all but seal a playoffs berth.
The Kings have been sensational this season. Their top-order has been rock solid, with opener Prabhsimran Singh providing flying starts and accumulating 437 runs.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer has scored 405 runs, including four fifties, and the presence of the in-form Shashank Singh in the middle-order give their batting depth. It will be interesting to see how the Capitals use their attack led by Mitchell Starc and Kuldeep Yadav.
“The last match was really good... a lot of positives, especially from Prabhsimran. We are expecting it to be another high scoring game. The conditions are good and we are planning to get the best out of all the matches now,” said Sunil Joshi, Kings’ spinning bowling coach.
