DC Predicted XI against KXIP: Sandeep Lamichhane in, Keemo Paul out

Delhi saw their three-match winning streak ended by Mumbai Indians in their last IPL encounter which also pushed them to third on the IPL table.

Delhi Capitals will look to get back to winning ways when they take on Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Saturday.

Sandeep Lamichhane (C) celebrates with his teammates after taking a wicket in IPL 2019. (AFP)

Delhi saw their three-match winning streak ended by Mumbai Indians in their last IPL encounter which also pushed them to third on the IPL table. As for Punjab, they will be high on confidence after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last outing.

The perennially slow pitch of Delhi will force the hosts’ hand to play one extra spinner and that could see Nepal tweaker Sandeep Lamichhane returning into the side. He is likely to take the place of Windies all-rounder Keemo Paul to avoid disrupting the balance of the team.

“I think the spinners will be very important, especially here at Kotla we have seen that the pitch is a little bit slow. There has been variable bounce and we saw that against Mumbai Indians as well. Their spinners were very crucial through the power-play and the middle overs,” DC bowling coach Samuel Badree told reporters on the eve of the clash.

Colin Munro, Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris are likely to retain their respective places in the side with Lamichhane being the fourth overseas player.

The rest of the squad is all set to be the same with Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan opening the innings followed by Shreyas Iyer and Rishbah Pant. Spinner all-rounder Axar Patel, leg-spinner Amit Mishra and fast-bowler Ishant Sharma are also set to retain their respective spots.

Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Colin Munro, Chris Morris, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Sandeep Lamichanne