Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings will fly to Dharamsala, as they both lock horns against each other for the second time in match number 64 of Indian Premier League 2023 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on 17^th May 2023.

Delhi Capitals will be coming into the contest on the back of a 31 run-loss against Punjab Kings in their previous game at Arun Jaitley Stadium. With their loss in the previous game, they stand eliminated from the playoff race, becoming the first team to get eliminated in IPL 2023, three games after DC got eliminated, SRH too joined the party after the loss against GT.

Punjab Kings, on the other hand, will be heading into the game after defeating Delhi on their own den in the last game. With the win in the last game, they fancied their chances in the playoff race. With 6 wins and losses apiece, they are placed at eighth position in the points table due to poor NRR compared to other teams. To stand alive in the tournament, they need to win the remaining two games comprehensively and expect other result go their way since they have very bad NRR.

For DC, David Warner has been their go-to batter as he has so far aggregated 384 runs at an average of 34.91 in 12 games, while Axar Patel has managed to score 268 runs at an average of 29.27 and has a strike rate of 137.43. In the bowling department, Mitchell Marsh holds the key, as he has picked 12 wickets so far, while Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel both have managed to pick 10 wickets each. DC after their elimination would be playing for pride and will look to play a spoilsport against PBKS.

For PBKS, Shikhar Dhawan tops the batting with 356 runs in 9 games at an average of 50.85, while Prabhsimran Singh has scored 334 runs in 12 games at an average of 27.83, his runs included a century in the previous game, Jitesh Sharma too has been impressive down the order with 265 runs in 12 games at a phenomenal strike rate of 158.68.

In the bowling department, Arshdeep Singh holds the key with 16 wickets in 12 games, while Nathan Ellis has managed to pick 12 wickets. PBKS will look to carry the winning momentum in the upcoming games, so as to seal a playoff berth in IPL 2023.

 PBKS vs DC Head-to Head Record at IPL 2023:

In as many as 31 games played between the two sides, PBKS edge over DC by 16 wins to 15 wins.

Matches Played	31
Punjab Kings	16
Delhi Capitals	15

IPL 2023 Stats and Records at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium:

The spinners at this venue, have enjoyed bowling better compared to pacers. In 9 games played at this venue, spin bowlers average 25.4 and struck at 20.3, while pace bowlers average 28.4 and have the strike rate of 21.5. Spinners have bowled economically as well at 7.5 compared to pacers economy of 7.9.  Five out of nine games here have been won by teams batting first and rest four have been won by teams chasing. Batting first is preferred by teams winning toss.

Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium	Stats
Matches Played	9
Number of wins batting first	5
Number of wins batting second	4
Average First Innings score	175.7
Average powerplay Score	40.6
Average death overs score	52.7

PBKS vs DC Strategy and Match-ups:

Both David Warner and Manish Pandey have struggled against Kagiso Rabada. David Warner has been dismissed thrice against Kagiso Rabada in 61 balls and has scored 89 runs, while Manish Pandey has been dismissed twice against Kagiso Rabada in 16 balls and scored 14 runs the match-up would tempt Shikhar Dhawan to bring back Kagiso Rabada to the playing eleven in the important encounter.

 Another Interesting Matchup is between Shikhar Dhawan and Kuldeep Yadav. Shikhar Dhawan has been dismissed twice against Kuldeep Yadav in 37 balls and has just scored 34 runs and Shahrukh Khan has been dismissed twice against Khaleel Ahmed. Ishant Sharma too have dismissed Shikhar Dhawan twice in just 30 balls, while giving away only 36 runs.

PBKS vs DC Highest and Lowest Totals Records:

PBKS’s highest total against DC is 202, whereas their lowest total is 68.

DC’s highest total against PBKS is 231 and their lowest total is 58

Top Players to Watch Out For:

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Arshdeep Singh

Delhi Capitals: David Warner, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje

PBKS vs DC Full Squads:

Punjab Kings:

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shahrukh Khan, Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Gurnoor Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Baltej Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Sam Curran, Sikanadar Raza, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, and Mohit Rathe

Delhi Capitals:

Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Chetan Sakariya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Pravin Dubey, Lungi Ngidi, Vicky Ostwal, Aman Khan, Phil Salt, Ishant Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Manish Pandey, Rilee Rossouw, Abhishek Porel