Placed second after Royal Challengers Bengaluru slipped down on net run rate, Punjab Kings will now get a chance to surge to the top of the standings with a win against Delhi Capitals in what is otherwise an inconsequential match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 in Jaipur on Saturday.
Finishing in the top two spots means getting another opportunity to fight for the title and PBKS will surge to the top with 19 points if they beat Delhi Capitals. And with a match against Mumbai Indians still to play, Shreyas Iyer's side can further extend their lead at the top and end the league phase as the No.1 placed team in the points table. Gujarat Titans (18) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have lost their last matches, which has opened up a chance for PBKS.
It is good from outside that we have qualified, but we spoke to the group some time ago about playing the game and the style of game that we want to play and we have got some clear goals where we want to finish at the end. And I think you are going to see that up over the next couple of games,” said the team's assistant coach Brad Haddin.
PBKS have thrived on the performance of their top order with Prabhsimran Singh (458), Shreyas Iyer (435), and Priyansh Arya (350), and their bowling charge is led by Arshdeep Singh (16), Yuzvendra Chahal (14) and Marco Jansen (13).
Shreyas Iyer has led them superbly, making the right changes as PBKS has experienced their best season in the 18 years of the league.
Our top order has been outstanding. Our captain has been great at number 3. We have seen Shashank and Omar (Omarzai) on a number of occasions. When they have been needed, they have come on and played really well. Shashank has got a couple of 50s, and Omar has done the same. At this stage of the tournament, we are happy with where all our batters are at.
Delhi Capitals, who are fifth with 13 points were in contention till Wednesday before they lost to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium and went out of contention. They will now play for pride and hope to end the season with a win in their final match of IPL 2025.
Delhi had got off to the best start in the season by winning their first four matches. But since then luck deserted them, they suffered some defeats and lost quite a few points to finish another season without a title.
I'm not on the selection panel but I would expect that we're going to pick our best team to win tomorrow. I think it's important for us as a group to finish well and put ourselves in a position to win the match. I would have thought if it's a line ball decision, that [trying new players] may happen, but generally speaking, we'll look at their team, look at the wicket today, which looks an absolute belter, and pick our best team to win the match and finish strongly, which is what all of our group wants.
They may be forced to go into the match without captain Axar Patel, who did not practice on Friday. Matthew Mott said he had no idea about his recovery and could not confirm whether Axar would play the match.
In the last five matches, PBKS have won three and have lost one with one match resulting in no result. Delhi Capitals on the other hand have lost four of their five matches with one game ending in no-result.
Overall, the teams are equally matched on head-to-head record, having met in 33 matches with PBKS winning 17 and Delhi Capitals winning 16.
Probable playing XIs: Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wk), Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nehal Wadhera, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal. Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul, Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel (wk), Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel (capt), Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, Dushmantha Chameera, Mukesh Kumar.
