Dharamsala: IPL 2023-When the two sides square off in Dharamsala on May 17, the wooden spooners Delhi Capitals will battle for pride, and Punjab Kings will be hungry to secure a significant victory to maintain their IPL play-off aspirations.

For PBKS, the journey has seen six defeats and just as many victories. With 12 points, they are currently in eighth place and have a chance to qualify.

They must, however, increase their net run rate (NRR), which is currently -0.268.

The Shikhar Dhawan-led team will look for a repeat performance and then hope that other outcomes go their way after a 31-run victory against the Capitals last week improved their NRR and morale.

Punjab will need to significantly improve their batting performance. Opening batsman Prabhsimran Singh fought alone against Delhi. Very few PBKS batters have sufficiently added to their overall totals, with the exception of Dhawan, who has been their finest batter, and to some extent Prabhsimran Singh.

Additionally, their bowlers must pull up their socks. Despite having a strong bowling arsenal that includes Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, and Arshdeep Singh, PBKS frequently struggles to contain runs.

Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, have had a terrible season and have already been eliminated from play-off contention.

All season long, the batting lineup has disappointed. Indian batsmen for Delhi have put on a poor performance, with the exception of Axar Patel.

Delhi Capitals' struggles this season have been heavily impacted by the utter failure of Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan, forcing the think-tank to position all of their foreign players at the top.

With the willow, the team's captain David Warner, wicketkeeper-bat Phil Salt, and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh have gained some momentum. However, once they are gone, the intermediate order just falls apart.

The Capitals appeared to be headed for an easy victory against Punjab in their previous matchup until they lost eight wickets for a total of 67 runs.

Not as poorly as the hitters are the Indian bowlers playing in the team. Three of DC's four victories have been the result of outstanding bowling performances.

Ishant Sharma, a seasoned warhorse, has done his job, and Khaleel Ahmed's return has also been beneficial.

Anrich Nortje, who had previously returned home for personal reasons, is now back, but it remains to be seen whether Delhi will stick with the four foreign batsmen at the top or if they will bring in the South African pacer to hone their bowling assault.

Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, a spin bowling pair, have produced efficient bowling.

Delhi Capitals: David Warner (c), Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Hakim Khan, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh,Phil Salt, Lungi Ngidi,  Abhishek Porel (wk),  Rovman Powell, Rilee Rossouw, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahaman,Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakariya, Mukesh Kumar, Praveen Dubey, Lalit Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Manish Pandey, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Yash Dhull, Ripal Patel, Vicky Ostwal, 

The squads of Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shahrukh  Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Khan, Matthew Short, Jitesh Sharma, Gurnoor Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Singh Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh.

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