IPL 2019 highlights: Iyer guides DC to 5-wicket win against KXIP at Kotla

Chris Gayle smashed five gargantuan sixes into the night sky before Delhi Capitals put the brakes and restricted Kings XI Punjab to 163 for seven.

7:47 PM

DC playing 11

Delhi Capitals Playing 11: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Colin Ingram, Sherfane Rutherford, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Sandeep Lamichhane, Ishant Sharma

7:45 PM

KXIP playing 11

Kings XI Punjab XI: KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, R Ashwin, H Brar, Hardus Viljoen, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami

7:43 PM

Here are the playing 11 of both the teams

7:43 PM

WATCH TOSS: Delhi Capitals to bowl first

7:36 PM

TOSS ALERT: Delhi Capitals to bowl first

Delhi Capitals win toss and elect to bowl first

7:28 PM

Toss will take place in two minutes. Stay tuned

7:27 PM

Key bowlers for Delhi Capitals

Delhi’s team selection has also left a lot to be desired as they played Keemo Paul over Sandeep Lamichhane on a turning wicket against Mumbai Indians. Interestingly, even Mumbai Indians on Wednesday night decided to play three spinners in Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav and Krunal Pandya while Delhi went in with just two in Amit Mishra and Axar Patel. In today’s match, Sandeep must replace Paul in DC playing 11. Kasigo Rabada is best bowler for DC in deaths and poweplay over but Hardik Pandya sent him for leather hunt and Rabada will look to brush up his death bowling today.

7:23 PM

Key bowlers for Kings XI Punjab

With the likes of Mujeeb ur Rahman and Murugan Ashwin in the side to back skipper Ashwin, KXIP will be relishing the opportunity of playing on a low and slow Kotla wicket. Not to forget the experience of Mohammed Shami in the pace bowling department and the exuberance of Arshdeep Singh.

7:21 PM

Key batsmen for Delhi Capitals

For Delhi, it will be about replicating their away form on home conditions as the free flowing stroke-makers in Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, skipper Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant have found it very difficult to adapt to the slow nature of the Kotla wicket. Rishabh Pant will again be in focus after his fiercely-debated World Cup exclusion, having failed in Thursday's defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians.
 
Disappointed at being ignored for the showpiece, the highly-rated young wicketkeeper-batsman will certainly look to prove a point.

7:16 PM

Delhi Capitals performance at Ferozshah Kotla

Shreyas Iyer and Co have only one win from their four home matches, the lone victory coming in the Super Over after the match against Kolkata Knight Riders ended in a tie.

7:14 PM

Here’s what Kasigo Rabada said about his bowling SUPER OVER

Proteas bowler produced a series of yorkers in Super Over to stop Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Andre Russell early in the season.
 
"I thought, big boundary, hmm, what do we bowl here? We could bowl bouncers. We could bowl slower balls. But it's risky. I wasn't really feeling them on the day. On another day, I could have felt them. But I felt the Yorker," he said.
 
"IPL is a high-pressure environment, where you'll think of something in the moment and really need to execute. It's about dealing with that pressure. There are always moments in the game where there's pressure, and we play the game to win, so you have to be able to (thrive on the pressure)," said Rabada, who has helped Delhi climb to the third position in the points table.

7:09 PM

WATCH: David Miller's take on Northern Derby

7:02 PM

WATCH: Ponting and Ganguly during DC's practice session

7:01 PM

'Ponting, Ganguly working overtime to break Kotla code'

A loss against Mumbai Indians at the Ferozshah Kotla has once again put the spotlight on Delhi Capitals' inability to adapt to conditions at home and the team management is aware of the same and looking to work on it before their game against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday. For now, Delhi's record stands at a dismal one win after four home games in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League.

What makes matters scarier is the fact that even though they are looking good to qualify for the play-offs this time after a couple of torrid seasons, Delhi play three of their last five games at home. And that has prompted the team management to go into over-drive mode and get into a huddle and decide on how to counter the slow Kotla wicket.

Speaking to news agency IANS, a senior DC official said that both head coach Ricky Ponting and advisor Sourav Ganguly had a meeting with the rest of the team management to discuss the future course of action as the boys must find a way to overcome the Kotla hurdle.

"The pitch is just too slow for the liking of our batsmen. If you look at our top-order, we have some of the most free flowing batsmen and for them to play their strokes is an issue on a slow wicket like the Kotla. The team management did have a meeting after the game on Thursday and we have another one today evening to discuss the way to counter the Kotla square," the official said.

Commenting on the decision to play Keemo Paul over Sandeep Lamichhane, the official said that Ponting felt that the team should look to keep the winning momentum going and not make too many changes.

"The head coach felt that sticking with the winning combination would be a good thing. Yes, they could have played a spinner in place of the medium-pacer, but then, calls are made at times with an eye on not tinkering with a winning outfit. But yes, the matter will definitely be kept in mind when the team for the next game is discussed," the official said.
 

6:47 PM

Here are the playing 11 probables of both the teams

DC playing 11: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Colin Ingram, Chris Morris, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Sandeep Lamichanne

KXIP playing 11: Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair/Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, R Ashwin (c), M Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Mohammed Shami