The Punjab Kings will be looking to finalise their playing combination for the playoffs as they face the Delhi Capitals in Match 66 of the 2025 Indian Premier League season.
Here are our preview and predictions for the game.
Indian Premier League 2025 | Match 66: Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals | 19:30 IST, May 24
Time and again, the Kings have shown they’re one of the most dangerous teams this year. Under the new captain-coach duo of Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting, they’ve gone from strength to strength, displaying tremendous batting power and bowling versatility.
It all starts with the belligerent opening pair of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh up the order. Arya is boasting one of the best strike rates in the competition (190.37), while Prabhsimran is PBKS’ highest run-scorer in the tournament (458 runs at a strike rate of 171.53). Following them is captain Iyer, who has once again shown that his leadership needs to be spoken of more glowingly. Along with his excellent captaincy, Iyer has had another good season with the bat (435 runs at a strike rate of 174.69).
The Kings’ bowling has also more than held its own. The trio of Arshdeep Singh (16 wickets at an economy rate of 8.7), Yuzvendra Chahal (14 wickets at an economy rate of 9.56), and Marco Jansen (13 wickets at an economy rate of 9.16) have chipped in with wickets in crucial moments to tilt games in their side’s favour.
On the other hand, for the Capitals it has been a classic Jekyll and Hyde season. They started the tournament like a house on fire. After winning six of their first eight matches they looked certain to make the playoffs, before a run of no wins in their next five games took them out of the playoff picture altogether.
DC have missed the pace of spearhead Mitchell Starc (14 wickets), who has not returned for the second leg of the season. Without the Australian, they’ve looked ordinary and listless. Axar Patel’s illness has meant that they’ve been unable to rely on their captain’s batting and bowling expertise as well.
Adding to the absentee issues are DC’s poor opening performances. The team have not managed to put up a single decent opening partnership, which has put the middle order under tremendous pressure. Even the promotion of KL Rahul as an opener has not worked out.
Delhi will look back and rue their poor performances at home.
This is the first meeting between the two sides this season. DC will look to end the season on a positive note, while PBKS will not only look to improve their side, but possibly seal a top-two spot as well.
We favour the Punjab Kings to win this contest, especially after the manner in which Delhi tamely surrendered against the Mumbai Indians in their last game.
Fantasy XI: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, KL Rahul (c), Shreyas Iyer (vc), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Shashank Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Marco Jansen, Kuldeep Yadav
Venue: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Winners Prediction: Punjab Kings
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