Match abandoned in Dharamsala
The Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals match in Dharamsala has been called off after 10.1 overs of action.
"The Punjab Kings v Delhi Capitals match (Match#58) in Tata IPL was forced to be abandoned due to a significant technical failure at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala," a statement from the IPL said. "Due to a power outage in the area, one of the light towers at the HPCA stadium malfunctioned. BCCI regrets the inconvenience caused to the in-stadium attendees."
The first ten overs of the game saw PBKS openers Priyansh Arya (70) and Prabhsimran Singh (50*) dominate proceedings, hitting a 122-run opening stand in only 10 overs.
Priyansh, though, fell in the first ball of the 11th over, top-edging a T Natarajan slower-ball bouncer onto his helmet which popped up for a simple catch. The players, though, left the field before the next ball was bowled with floodlight failure at the stadium.
Before the abandonment, Priyansh and Prabhsimran took down Mitchell Starc and Dushmantha Chameera in the powerplay. PBKS raced away to 50 for no loss in four overs.
After the powerplay, the pair tore into Kuldeep Yadav as well, hitting him for two sixes and two fours. Priyansh reached his third fifty-plus score of the season in the seventh over off just 25 balls. Prabhsimran reached his landmark in the tenth and in the process became the first uncapped batter to hit four half-centuries in a row in the IPL.
PBKS next play Mumbai Indians, scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad on May 11. DC play Gujarat Titans at home on the same day.
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Slower ball gets Priyansh, light towers go off
Natarajan finally gets the breakthrough. A short ball, with pace taken off, and Priyansh top-edges a pull onto his helmet which then pops up to short third.
However, before the No.3 can walk in, one floodlight tower goes off. Then another. Then another. And the game is paused at 122/1 in 10.1 overs.
We should be in overs-being-lost territory...
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Priyansh takes down Kuldeep!
It was just a few moments ago on broadcast that PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting was saying how Priyansh is better against pace and Prabhsimran complements him with his spin-hitting abilities.
Priyansh sure didn't hear that but his approach to Kuldeep Yadav has been absolutely blistering, taking down India's No. 1 wristspinner with two sixes off the first two balls.
Prabhsimran moves to 49 by swatting Kuldeep away for another four, but them goes down clutching his hamstrings. But he's quick to make a recovery and gets to his own fifty in 28 balls.
It's his 4th consecutive fifty - tremendous consistency! He is the first uncapped man to do so. The previous best was Gaikwad's hat-trick of 50s in 2020.
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PBKS 122/0 in 10 overs with ESPNcricinfo's forecast suggesting 237!
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Blitz continues
8.5 Overs needed to get to the team hundred
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A 25-ball fifty for Priyansh!
Priyansh Arya continues to make big strides in being one of the main contenders for the Emerging Player Award. He back-foot lofts Axar for a six over long off to move to 49 and then knocks it to square leg to get to fifty.
This is his third fifty-plus total in the IPL. Time-out called after seven overs with PBKS 79/0 in seven overs
It was only a few weeks ago that Wasim Jaffer had said he wanted to see Priyansh in the India set-up soon. The youngster sure is putting in a great audition.
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Nattu - first time this season
T Natarajan hasn't bowled all season. He was picked last game for DC but didn't get to bowl due to rain.
Here he is, in the sixth over, to try and change DC's fortunes. He's been a lethal death-overs bowler in the past, and he's started today inside the first six instead. Natarajan's form in the back-end of this tournament could be make or break for DC.
His first three deliveries have been peaches, with Nattu beating Priyansh's outside edge in two of those deliveries, with the bowler operating on a good length or just back. Against Prabhsimran he ekes out a dot and a double.
Just four runs to end the powerplay. PBKS 69/0 in six
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PBKS 50 up in no time!
Two uncapped Indian openers. Two international-quality quick bowlers. And the youngsters have won the battle convincingly. Starc smacked for five fours. Chameera for two fours and two sixes. A chanceless four overs.
Axar Patel comes in to bowl the penultimate powerplay over with PBKS 50/0 in four overs.
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Starc vs P and P
When Priyansh and Prabhsimran put on a partnership of 45+, PBKS have never lost. They've started well against Mitchell Starc, with Priyansh flicking and lofting the Aussie for two fours in the first two balls!
Anyway, despite being expensive (econ. 10.2) this season, Starc's variations have been quite the handful for batters.
Here's more on that.
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PBKS bat; DC bring in Tiwari and Rizvi
Punjab Kings opt to bat vs Delhi Capitals
Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer chose to bat first in Dharamsala against Delhi Capitals (DC), 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 earlier, resulting in a start time of 8.30pm for the fixture.
While Punjab Kings opted for the same batting XI, DC made two changes. Legspinner Vipraj Nigam was 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 in domestic cricket.
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
Shreyas vs DC spinners
One positive, friends. The rain has eased off and the umpires are inspecting conditions. We'll have the first ball at 8.30pm.
So let's turn our focus onto the game. One blockbuster encounter today can be between PBKS captain Shreyas and the pair of Axar and Kuldeep. They're India's premier spinners, but they're also up against one of the best against spin in the country.
Shreyas strikes at 152 against both spinners. Axar has dismissed him once in six outings. Kuldeep two times in seven. Interestingly, the impact from Kuldeep (and Vipraj Nigam) has reduced in DC's last four games, although Axar has stepped up.
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Uh, oh - rain
From what we can gather, the toss (scheduled in around five minutes) is unlikely to start on time since a steady drizzle has engulfed the venue.
Let's hope we get a game tonight here because it is the last of the season. The next game here (PBKS vs MI) has been been shifted to Ahmedabad owing to tensions.
Both sides have already endured a washout, and therefore are on 15 (PBKS) and 13 (DC) points respectively. DC have been having a Jekyll-and-Hyde kind of season, losing four of their last completed games. Their opening is unsettled and they've used the most opening pairs this season. Sadly, for them, no opening pair has lasted more than 2 games. Will we see another change tonight? Maybe Jake Fraser-McGurk? It's an option that divided our experts in the ESPNcricinfo studios.
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Hello from Dharamsala!
Venues don't get prettier than this. And at stake is a lot for both Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in their push for the playoffs.
Hi everyone, this is Sreshth Shah, and let's hope yesterday's rain stays away for today's contest. Before we jump in, check out the scenarios - ie, what PBKS and DC need to do - for the playoffs.
The official weather report for this evening is as follows: Sunny but dark clouds hovering around, windy + chances of mild drizzling.
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