Axar Patel won the toss and led Delhi Capitals to bowl first in a must-win IPL clash against Punjab Kings at Dharamsala. The decision sets up an evening where both sides will look to make early inroads, with Patel pointing to conditions that could favour pace right from the start.
Axar Patel’s call and Dharamsala’s conditions
With the match in a critical stage, Patel opted to field first after winning the toss. He highlighted that the venue is offering a “fresh wicket” and suggested that fast bowlers should be able to make an impact early.
There has been plenty of encouragement for teams chasing at the ground: since the beginning of 2023, sides batting first have won four of the five IPL matches played at Dharamsala. The captain’s view fits the broader sense that the new ball could matter on a surface that is not behaving exactly the same as in previous games.
- Since the start of 2023, teams batting first have won 4 of the 5 IPL matches at Dharamsala.
- Axar Patel said it is “a fresh wicket” with early help for fast bowlers.
Delhi Capitals: five changes and a reshuffled XI
Delhi Capitals made five alterations for the encounter. They brought in Sahil Parakh, Abishek Porel, David Miller, Madhav Tiwari and Auqib Nabi, while Pathum Nissanka and Kuldeep Yadav were among the notable names left out.
Delhi’s playing XI featured Axar Patel as captain, with KL Rahul keeping wicket and a top order that includes Abishek Porel. Mitchell Starc and Lungi Ngidi were included in the bowling group alongside Mukesh Kumar.
- In: Sahil Parakh, Abishek Porel, David Miller, Madhav Tiwari, Auqib Nabi.
- Out: Pathum Nissanka and Kuldeep Yadav (among the biggest exclusions).
Delhi Capitals XI
- 1 Abishek Porel
- 2 KL Rahul (wk)
- 3 Sahil Parakh
- 4 Tristan Stubbs
- 5 David Miller
- 6 Axar Patel (capt)
- 7 Madhav Tiwari
- 8 Auqib Nabi
- 9 Mitchell Starc
- 10 Lungi Ngidi
- 11 Mukesh Kumar
Delhi Capitals Impact Player bench
- Ashutosh Sharma
- Sameer Rizvi
- T Vijay
- Pathum Nissanka
- Vipraj Nigam
Punjab Kings: debut for Ben Dwarshuis, and Impact Player options
Punab Kings handed a debut to Ben Dwarshuis. He came in for Lockie Ferguson, who was carrying a slight niggle. Punjab also had no Vijaykumar Vyshak in the bat-first XI or on the Impact Player bench, which means the bowling-impact slot is expected to be covered by one of Harpreet Brar, Yash Thakur or Praveen Dubey.
Punjab Kings XI
- 1 Priyansh Arya
- 2 Prabhsimran Singh (wk)
- 3 Cooper Connolly
- 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt)
- 5 Marcus Stoinis
- 6 Suryansh Shedge
- 7 Shashank Singh
- 8 Marco Jansen
- 9 Ben Dwarshuis
- 10 Arshdeep Singh
- 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
Punjab Kings Impact Player bench
- Harpreet Brar
- Yash Thakur
- Xavier Bartlett
- Vishnu Vinod
- Praveen Dubey
Dharamsala boundary sizes
Dharamsala is often viewed as a ground that can produce high-scoring totals, and the boundary dimensions reflect that. The square of the field measures 63 metres and 65 metres, while the straight boundary stands at 72 metres.
- Square boundaries: 63 metres and 65 metres
- Straight boundary: 72 metres
