The Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab open their Indian Premier League (IPL) campaigns in Dubai on Sunday 20 September.
Delhi Capitals vs Kings XI Punjab: IPL preview
Along with the Royal Challengers Bangalore these two sides have a lot to prove having never lifted the IPL trophy.
The Kings XI Punjab’s best performance came in 2014 when they reached the final only to lose to the Kolkata Knight Riders while the Capitals and their former identity the Daredevils have never reached the championship match.
The Capitals sport perhaps the best selection of homegrown talent with captain Shreyas Iyer joined by fellow India internationals Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant.
Former Kings XI skipper Ravichandran Ashwin will line up for the Capitals this season while Pretty Zinta’s team will be led by KL Rahul.
These two sides feature Australia’s ODI series heroes, Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey, who a few days ago were batting together and scoring twin centuries. The IPL has waived their proposed quarantine period for players coming straight from another bio-bubble meaning they could take each other on, on Sunday.
Kagiso Rabada is expected to lead the Capitals attack after powering the team to the playoffs last season with hatfuls of wickets and will be joined in the squad by fellow Proteas quick Anrich Nortje.
The Kings XI will benefit greatly from the presence of England allrounder Chris Jordan, who is among the best T20 bowlers in the world. Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Pitch report
The Dubai ground is known to aid spinners but there is a high likelihood that dew will disadvantage the team who bowl second.
Winning the toss should see the skipper elect to bowl first on what will be a very difficult ground to defend on.
Delhi Capitals vs Kings XI Punjab: Start times and where to watch
The match starts at 16:00 (SAST) and will be broadcast on SuperSport’s dedicated cricket channel. Highlights and video clips are available on IPLT20.com.
DELHI CAPITALS SQUAD
Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Alex Carey, Kagiso Rabada, Shimron Hetmyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Keemo Paul, Mohit Sharma, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Anrich Nortje, Tushar Deshpande, Daniel Sams
KINGS XI PUNJAB SQUAD
KL Rahul (Captain & Wicketkeeper), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, James Neesham, Chris Jordan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Sheldon Cottrell, Ishan Porel, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Arshdeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, M Ashwin, J Suchith, Harpreet Brar, Darshan Nalkande, Deepak Hooda, Tajinder Singh Dhillon, Prabhsimran Singh.
