IPL 2025: Unchanged Punjab Kings elect to bat first against Delhi Capitals

Dharamshala, May 8 (IANS) An unchanged Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to bat first against Delhi Capitals in Match 58 of IPL 2025 at the HPCA Stadium here on Thursday. The toss was delayed by an hour and 15 minutes due to steady drizzle at the venue, with the first ball to be bowled at 8:30 pm.

PBKS, currently at third place with 15 points, come into Match 58 of the tournament on the back of two successive wins, including beating Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their first home game of IPL 2025 in Dharamsala. A victory for PBKS will make them the first team to enter the IPL 2025 playoffs.

“We'll bat first, considering the outfield. The fans are happy with the decision. If you see the trend in IPL, the players who are in form and win you matches win you the championship. That's a great motivating factor. The team is in high spirits. It's important we tick the boxes right. You've got to stick to your routines,” said PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer.

DC, on the other hand, earned one point from their washed-out game in Hyderabad and are in the fifth spot with 13 points. A big win for DC will take them to third place in the points table. DC lead head-to-head record against PBKS by 5-2 since the 2021 IPL season, while both teams have won matches twice each in Dharamshala.

DC captain Axar Patel said medium-pace bowling all-rounder Madhav Tiwari has been handed his IPL debut and replaces leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam in the playing eleven. DC have also left out Karun Nair, with Sameer Rizvi taking his place in the eleven.

“We would have fielded first because of the weather. The wicket will remain the same. It's a long tournament, and it's important to be positive. We've spoken about how we've been in a competitive position despite playing some poor games," he said.

This will also be the final IPL 2025 game in Dharamshala as PBKS’ final home match against Mumbai Indians, to be held on Sunday afternoon, has been shifted to Ahmedabad owing to logistical challenges and tensions after Operation Sindoor began on May 7.

Playing XIs:

Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wk), Shreyas Iyer (captain), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Arshdeep Singh

Impact substitutes: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, and Yash Thakur

Delhi Capitals: Faf du Plessis, KL Rahul (wk), Abishek Porel, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (captain), Tristan Stubbs, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, and T Natarajan

Impact substitutes: Ashutosh Sharma, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mukesh Kumar, Vipraj Nigam, and Tripurna Vijay

--IANS

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