Live Report - IPL 2023 - Delhi Capitals vs Punjab Kings, Delhi

Delhi Capitals are out of IPL 2023.

It was weird that Punjab Kings bowled only one over of spin in the powerplay.

But as soon as they went all in on spin, this game changed.

Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar picked up six wickets for 46 runs in their eight overs.

They played the perfect support act to one of this IPL's great innings from Prabhsimran Singh. This guy used to be a cameo player. An intent machine who makes 20 off 7 and then gets out. Here he almost batted through the innings in highly demanding conditions. This win was build on his back.

At ball number 8.5, Capitals were 86 for 3, with Warner on 54 off 26.

Kings had a 20% chance of victory.

At ball number 10.1, Capitals are 88 for 6.

Kings have a 78% chance of victory now.

That's a 58% swing in momentum in the space of eight balls.

Capitals right now are crashing out of IPL 2023.

Harpreet Brar strikes.

Warner's gone

And forecaster reflects just how big a wicket that is.

Capitals were 80% favourites the ball before his wicket. Once he was lbw, it came down to 72%

That's an 8% swing towards the Kings. And it keeps going because Axar Patel falls too.

In the space of two balls, Kings have become 16% more likely to win this game.

His 60th in the IPL, and it's come off just 23 balls. Been a vintage display too - 42 of those runs have come in boundaries. That's when you know Warner's feeling it. When all his runs come through hits to the fence. It's another sign that batting has become much much easier out there.

Though the other end has already leaked three wickets - Phil Salt, Mitch Marsh and Rilee Roussouw are all gone. Capitals have gone from 65 for 0 in six overs to 81 for 3 in the ninth over. They need 87 off 71, and ESPNcricinfo's forecaster says they have an 78% chance of getting there.

The eye test - just seeing how the batters are shaping up and how they're rarely getting beaten on their shots - says run-scoring has become easier out there. The dew that Warner was expecting at the toss might just have arrived to help his team out. They need a win here to stay alive in the tournament.

Another indicator that dew is present might be how Kings have bowled only one over of spin in the first six. That could be because they were worried about the spinner being able to grip the ball properly enough to handle bowling in the field restrictions.

Capitals are 65 for 0 in six overs. They need 103 in 84 balls.

A target of 168 is very much tricky on a slow pitch, and it does appear to have retained those qualities in the second innings as well. Sam Curran's cutter just turned Phil Salt inside out in the second over.

But Capitals know if they can knock off 60-odd runs in the powerplay, when only two fielders are allowed outside the circle, then they can spend the rest of the innings just knocking the ball around and getting pretty close.

That advantage is certainly showing now with the score on 33 for 0. Seven of the first 19 balls of the innings have been hit for four. This is really good batting from Warner and Salt.

He was 53 off 44.

Then he was dropped on 68.

He is now 102 off 61

That's 49 in 17 balls

On a pitch where none of his team-mates have crossed 20, and only one other managed to score at better than run-a-ball, that too for only five balls. This has been a spectacular innings of perseverance.

Will Capitals, and Rilee Rossouw, rue dropping Prabhsimran on 68?

He's holding his shape almost perfectly now, which is reward for him battling through the first 12 or so overs on this slow pitch.

This is him whacking Ishant's slower balls all over the park in the 16th over.

Prabhsimran is Kings' most crucial batter now. They'll want him to last the full 20, and he might want the same, because if he does, he'll be pretty close to a century

Prabhsimran vs Kuldeep in the 17th over. He's in the zone now. He's 90 off 57.

Prabhsimran has made 50 of Punjab Kings' 95 so far. He's had to work really hard for these runs. He's switch hit spin. He's jumped all over his crease to try and put the bowlers off their plan A. He's never held back the moment he got a ball he could get under. And despite all that, he's batting only just better than run a ball (SR 119). Innings like these aren't fun to play, but they can pay off.

Kings will be desperate for the dew that Warner expected at the toss to not come in. Because if this pitch stays as it is now, 150-160 could be very competitive.

Slowdowns like these are inevitable on slow pitches. It's part of the plan. Kings are saving wickets so that they have enough resources to go hard at the death. This is, in a way, good batting.

And it just got better.

This is Prabhsimran against Marsh in the 11th over. It's the first over from a fast bowler since the end of the fifth. Prabhsimran saw the opening and he made the most of it. Excellent work.

Twenty-two dots in 36 balls of the powerplay. And 32 of the 46 runs in boundaries. These are tell-tale signs of a slow pitch.

Because when there's pace on the ball, it's easy to hit through the line and keep scoring runs steadily.

When its not there, it's hard to even get the ball off the square. So you get your runs in fits and spurts. 22 balls for no runs. Seven balls for 32 runs (5x4 and 2x6).

Punjab have tried a lot of things in these first few overs, because they know, they have to get the bulk of their runs when the field restrictions are on.

Its why Prabhsimran has been playing switch hits. It's why Livingstone charged down the pitch. It's why Jitesh gave away his stumps to access the off side.

These are the risks that batters take to combat slow pitches, to get the ball off the square. The problem for Kings is that when they've taken these risks, they're resulted in wickets.

Livingstone fell to the first risk he took. And now Jitesh is gone too, having made room to go inside out against Axar.

The fast bowler's offcutters are already proving hard to hit on this dry Delhi pitch.

Khaleel Ahmed just rolled his fingers down the side of the ball and dug it into the middle of the wicket. It gripped. It stopped. And it made a proper nuisance of itself.

Prabhsimran was through his slog too early and got hit in the stomach.

Spin is clearly going to play a role here. And on cue, Axar Patel comes in for the fourth over, and his first ball rips right across the right-hander, pitching on middle and leg and turning clean past his outside edge

If conditions stay like this, batting second will be very hard. But if they change - if dew comes in - then this game will turn into a bit of a farce.

Punjab will have batted when batting was at its toughest and they will have bowled when bowling was at its toughest.

And there we go. The lack of pace as Ishant goes wobble seam does Liam Livingstone in. Punjab 32 for 2 in 4.1 overs.

But while Royals have provided a solid amount of runs as well - 550 at 10 per over - Punjab's first wicket has managed 225 which puts them towards the bottom of the table. Only Capitals' openers have been less productive (203 runs)

And the same script continues. Punjab's top two just can't stay long enough at the crease. Dhawan's gone. Six and out.

They've lost a total of 22 wickets in the powerplay this IPL. Only KKR and Capitals (both 25 wickets) have been more vulnerable against the new ball

Crucial advantage for a team that needs to keep winning to stay in the tournament, Warner has won the toss and given Capitals the chance to chase a target with dew expected later on in the game. They make one change with Ripal Patel dropping out of the XI in favour of a bowler Praveen Dubey.

Capitals: David Warner (c), Phil Salt (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Rilee Rossouw, Axar Patel, Aman Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Dubey, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed

Kings captain Dhawan would have preferred to bowl as well, but his line-up does have the firepower to make things complicated. Prabhsimran Singh at the top of the order has been full of intent every time he has gone out to bat. Liam Livingstone hasn't shown his best yet and now would be a good time for him to change that given his team will need a par-plus total. As for changes: Sikandar Raza comes in for Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sikandar Raza, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

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