Unchanged PBKS opt to bat; DC hand IPL debut to Madhav Tiwari
Karun Nair missed out with Sameer Rizvi taking his place
ESPNcricinfo staff
08-May-2025 • 6 hrs ago
Toss: Punjab Kings opt to bat vs Delhi Capitals
Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer chose to bat first in Dharamsala against Delhi Capitals (DC), in IPL 2025, with plenty at stake for both sides. He wanted to bat since the ground would be wet at the start of the game. The toss took place 75 minutes late at 8.15pm with a drizzle welcoming both teams.
While Punjab Kings opted for the same batting XI for the fixture, DC made one change with legspinner Vipraj Nigam being left out for Madhav Tiwari. Tiwari is a 21-year-old allrounder who bats right-handed and bowls right-arm medium pace for Madhya Pradesh.
The other change was Sameer Rizvi replacing Karun Nair. Nair's had a forgettable time in the six games following his 89 against Mumbai Indians (MI).
"The team is in high spirits and everyone is stepping up at the right time," Shreyas said. "On top of the world to be honest, the way things are panning out."
Axar Patel said DC would've liked to field first since chasing with some rain around could be advantageous.
"We've spoken about how we've been in a competitive position despite playing some poor games," Axar said. "We've been speaking about the positives."
PBKS would have their playoff spot secured with a victory. Delhi Capitals need wins in all three remaining games to be assured of qualification, although they could still qualify if they go down tonight.
Delhi Capitals bowling-first XI: Faf du Plessis, KL Rahul (wk), Abishek Porel, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan
DC bench: Ashutosh Sharma, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mukesh Kumar, Vipraj Nigam, Tripurna Vijay
Punjab Kings batting-first XI: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
PBKS bench: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Pravin Dubey, Yash Thakur