Punjab keen to keep their hopes alive against Delhi (Preview)

Punjab have done the unlikely by winning two back to back matches after five successive loses. They are still very much in the fray for a top four spot but they will have to win three more matches in the league phase. Thus, they have everything to play for in tomorrow’s match up against Delhi, who will be playing for pride as they are already out of the race.

The picturesque Dharamsala ground would host its first match of IPL-4 as Punjab play hosts following a convincing win over Kochi. It seems the pep talk from the team owner, Preity Zinta has fired up Punjab batting, and they put in two good performances against Mumbai and Kochi. The bowlers have also lifted themselves after a lean patch to get their act together even when the charge is on. They made an excellent comeback in the last match when Kochi looked set for a total well above 200 but were restricted to 178 which their batsmen chased down without any major alarms.

Fielding however remains a concern; catches have gone down almost in every match. It is not always that a team gets away with it, ask Sanga and Company who paid the price of dropping Sehwag. The good thing is that the home team have no option but to go for the kill.

On the other hand, the visitors have got everything stacked against them. The absence of star batsman and captain Virender Sehwag has hurt them badly. Without the Delhi dazzler, their batting looks very lean, probably the weakest in the leagues. Bowling has been an issue all throughout the season. The lack of a quality spinner among their ranks has made their one-dimensional attack all too predictable. For them only pride is at stake and with just two matches to go before their campaign comes to an end, they would be looking for some positives at least.

PUNJAB

Players who can make impact…

David Hussey….He is a very good T20 specialist who can bat at any stage and change gears according to the situation. Although, the Australian did not have a successful stint with Punjab this year, his calm demeanor took them across the line at a crunch time against Kochi.

Shaun Marsh…He has been Mr. Consistent for Punjab. His flawless technique makes him fit for any role, whether that of a sheet anchor or an attacking option towards the end of innings. He also is the go-to man for the Punjab line up when they have lost too many wickets early on.

SQUAD

Abhishek Nayar, Adam Gilchrist (c)(wk), Amit Yadav, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, David Hussey, David Miller, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Love Ablish, Mandeep Singh, Nathan Rimmington, Nitin Saini, Paras Dogra, Paul Valthaty, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Ryan Harris, Shalabh Srivastava, Shaun Marsh, Siddharth Chitnis, Sunny Singh, Vikramjeet Malik, Ryan McLaren.

DELHI

Players who can make impact…

Irfan Pathan….After an ordinary start to the tournament, the all-rounder has slowly regained his touch. The swing seems to have returned, his batting has also improved vastly. He would like to make an impact against his former franchise.

David Warner…He is no lesser than Sehwag when it comes to hitting a cricket ball but his game lacks consistency. He would want to leave an impression towards the fag end of Delhi’s campaign.

SQUAD

Aaron Finch, Aavishkar Salvi , Ajit Agarkar, Ajit Chandila, Andrew McDonald , Ashok Dinda , Colin Ingram, David Warner, Irfan Pathan, James Hopes (c), Matthew Wade (wk), Morne Morkel, Naman Ojha (wk), Prashant Naik, Rajesh Pawar, Robert Frylinck,Robin Bist, Roelof van der Merwe, Shahbaz Nadeem , Sridharan Sriram , Tejashwi Yadav, Travis Birt, Umesh Yadav, Unmukt Chand, Varun Aaron, Venugopal Rao, Vikas Mishra, Virender Sehwag (withdrawn player), Vivek Yadav, Yogesh Nagar.