Mumbai: Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant has won the toss and elected to bowl first against Punjab Kings at the Brabourne Stadium on Wednesday.
While Delhi are currently placed eighth in the points table, Punjab are positioned just a spot above them at seventh place.
The fate of the match was under doubt after Capitals’ wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert tested positive for Covid-19 in the RT-PCR test done earlier in the day. But with the second round of COVID tests returning negative for the rest of Capitals’ contingent, the match was given the green signal to go ahead.
The match between Delhi and Punjab will be played on the pitch where Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals played a high-scoring match on Monday. After winning the toss, Pant said batter Sarfaraz Khan replaces Covid-19 infected Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh in the playing eleven.
“It’s (Covid-19 scare) an unfortunate thing, we are not going to think about it. We will find strength amongst ourselves. There were parts where we bowled and batted well.”
For Punjab, regular captain Mayank Agarwal returns after missing out on the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad due to toe injury. He comes in for Prabhsimran Singh while Australia pacer Nathan Ellis replaces West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith in the playing eleven.
“I am fine now, just getting some protection for the shoe. It’s (Ellis for Smith) more of a strategic change. We need to put up our best foot forward and play some good cricket. We have an opportunity to bat first and put up a big score on the board and defend it,” stated Agarwal.
Playing XIs
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (captain & wicketkeeper), Rovman Powell, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman and Khaleel Ahmed
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Shahrukh Khan, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora and Arshdeep Singh
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