Playing XI
Venue Insights (Abu Dhabi)
Highest Team Total: 206/4 By Punjab Against Chennai In 2014.
Lowest Team Total: 70/10 By Bangalore Against Rajasthan In 2014.
Highest Individual Score: 95 By Glenn Maxwell (Punjab) Against Chennai In 2014.
Best Bowling Figures: 4/20 By Sunil Narine (Kolkata) Against Mumbai In 2014.
Highest Partnership: 131 By Jacques Kallis And Manish Pandey (Kolkata) For 2nd Wicket Against Mumbai In 2014.
Win Rate Batting First: 60% (6 Won; 4 Lost)
Top Fantasy Picks - All Rounders
Marcus Stoinis
He is one of the 2 all-rounders to have scored more than 200 runs and picked up more than 5 wickets this season (217 runs and 6 wickets for him). Also, the last time he played against Punjab, he made 53 with the bat and also took 2/29.
Axar Patel
5 out of Axar’s 7 wickets taken this season have come at Dubai. Also, in the last 5 matches he has taken 5 wickets and scored 45 handy runs. Thus he is too good an all-rounder to not be picked in your team.
Top Fantasy Picks - Bowlers
With 19 wickets, Rabada is the purple cap holder. Stat alert: He has taken at least a wicket in his last 23 IPL matches (total 47 wickets in these matches).
With 14 wickets Shami is 3rd in the list of Purple cap this season. He has a stellar record against Delhi in the IPL with performances of 3/15, 1/21 and 2/27 in his 3 matches against Delhi.
R Ashwin has performed better at Dubai than at other venues this season (4 out of his 7 wickets at Dubai). Also, in his last 5 matches against Punjab he has taken a total of 9 wickets.
Top Fantasy Picks - Batsmen & Keepers
The leading run-getter this season with 525 runs is certainly a no-brainer pick. Stat alert: This is his 3rd consecutive season to have scored 500+ runs, thus proving his consistency.
Gayle has already announced himself this tournament by scoring 77 runs in 2 matches so far. A look at his last 2 innings against Delhi: 69(37) and 48(38).
With 2 fifties and a century in his last 3 innings (Scores of 101*, 57 and 69*) Dhawan has finally found some form. With Prithvi Shaw not performing, Dhawan has certainly stepped up his game.
Probable XI
Punjab : KL Rahul (c,wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, M Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami
Delhi : Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Tushar Deshpande, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje
Preview
If there is one team in the bottom half of the points table in this year's League that's on the rise then it's Punjab. They are on a hunt and after beating Bangalore and Mumbai, Punjab have earned the tag of giant killers. Next in their path is another top team in Delhi and Rahul's boys would be going all guns blazing to take them down. Despite beating Mumbai through two Super Overs, there are loopholes in Punjab's team that they would like to fix, mainly in their death bowling. Delhi, on their part, are flying high and Dhawan's roaring form has further bolstered them. With Pant expected to return, Hetmyer also getting reinstated, Delhi would be raring to go and strengthen their position at the top. Expect a cracking game in Dubai.
Punjab at Dubai : Played 6, Won 3, Lost 3
Delhi at Dubai : Played 6, Won 5, Lost 1
Toss : Delhi won the toss and elected to bat first.