PBKS vs DC Live Score, IPL 2023: Rossouw smashes 25-ball 50 ...

Mukesh Kumar comes into the attack and Atharva Taide hits a good length delivery by the pacer for a FOUR, which comes off a leading edge.

He then smashes another length delivery by the pacer for a SIX, launching the ball over the mid-wicket fence. 

11 runs come in the over as Punjab Kings reach 47/1 in 6 overs.

Warner introduces Anrich Nortje in the attack and Atharva Taide welcomes him with a boundary. He then smashes a good length delivery by the pacer for a maximum over the long-on fence.

Nortje recovers well as he tests Prabhsimran and Atharva with short and pace deliveries. The batters somehow manage to escape the threat as 13 runs come off the over. PBKS: 36/1 (5 overs)

Atharva Taide runs a single to open Punjab Kings' account in 1.3 overs.

Prabhsimran then completes a double in the fifth ball, which is chased down by David Warner at long-off, and then hits a four this time towards the long-on fence. PBKS: 7/1 (2 overs)

Ishant Sharma continues his impressive show as he removes Shikhar Dhawan in the first ball. 

Atharva Taide joins the run chase. PBKS: 0/1 (1.1 overs)

Prabhsimran Singh and Shikhar Dhawan start the 214 chase as Khaleel Ahmed leads the attack for Delhi Capitals. 

He bowls five consecutive dots before the final delivery is signaled for a wide, and DC challenge the decision and TV official asks the umpire to reverse his decision. 

He bowls a maiden over.

Rilee Rossouw hits Harpreet Brar for a couple of sixes and a boundary. 

Phil Salt finishes the over with another four as Rabada misfields near the square leg fence. 

23 runs come in the final over as DC post 213/2 in 20 overs. 

Rossouw returns unbeaten on 82 off 37 balls, Salt scores 26*(14).

Nathan Ellis comes to bowl the penultimate over and he is welcomed with a SIX by Phil Salt. He then swings his bat hard in the next ball, which takes an edge and bounces beyond the short third reach and races away for a four.

Phil Salt finishes the over with another maximum as DC reach 190/2 in 19 overs.

Rossouw welcomes Harpreet Brar with a boundary. The spinner bowls full, wide and Rossouw makes use of the depth of the crease and cuts it behind square for a boundary.

10 runs come in the over as DC reach 172/2 (18 overs)

Nathan Ellis is back into the attack and Phil Salt passes the strike to Rossouw in the first ball. 

Rossouw then runs a double to bring up his half-century in 25 balls, following which he hits Ellis for a four towards the cover region. DC: 162/2 (17 overs)

Sam Curran comes into the attack and Rilee Rossouw hits the pacer for a huge SIX, sending the ball outside the stadium. 

Curran then finishes the over with a wicket as he gets rid of Prithvi Shaw for 54(38), who is caught at fine leg fence by Atharva Taide. He concedes 36 runs in his four overs.

Rilee Rossouw welcomes Rahul Chahar with a six. 

Prithvi Shaw then completes his half-century, which comes in 36 balls. 

Prithvi Shaw then finishes the over with a boundary. DC: 138/1 (14 overs)

Kagiso Rabada returns to the attack and he is whacked for a SIX, then FOUR, and one more SIX by Rilee Rossouw as seven runs come in the over. 

17 runs come in the over as Delhi reach 125/1 in 13 overs.

Sam Curran provides Punjab Kings with the first breakthrough as Shikhar Dhawan grabs a stunning catch. David Warner departs for 46(31). 

Rilee Rossouw comes in the middle and he gets two boundaries in the first three balls he faces. DC: 103/1 (11 overs)

David Warner is dropped on 39. 

Nathan Ellis comes into the attack and keeps it full outside off as Warner tries to play it over mid-on but ends up slicing it in the air. The ball goes towards point as three fielders converge. Chahar goes for it and makes a complete mess. 

Warner then hits the pacer for a FOUR as he finds the gap on the off-side. DC 93-0 (10 overs)

After two expensive overs, Shikhar Dhawan makes first bowling change as Arshdeep Singh joins the attack. He starts with a legside wide, however, Jitesh Sharma convinces his skipper to opt for a review. Replay confirms it as wide as Punjab lose an early review. 

Prithvi Shaw gets going as he hits Arshdeep Singh for consecutive sixes, before dispatching the ball over the mid-wicket fence for a maximum. 

The pair also bring up their 50-run stand. DC: 51/ (5 overs)

Rabada also continues from his end and he is welcomed with a boundary by Prithvi Shaw. He then plays a dot before passing the strike to Warner in the third ball. 

Warner then hits the pacer for a maximum over the fine-leg fence. Warner then plays a dot and then finishes the over with another maximum. DC: 35/0 (4 overs) 

Curran continues from his end and Warner runs a double in the first ball. He then bowls a dot, before Warner passes the strike to Shaw. 

Shaw times it sweetly in the next bowl, as the ball goes wide of the mid-off fielder, however, Liam Livingstone puts in a dive and brilliantly stops the ball as the batters complete a single. 

Warner then hits Curran for a boundary in the fifth ball and then gets a leading edge in the final delivery, which also results in four runs. DC: 18/0 (3 overs)

Kagiso Rabada shares the new ball with Curran and he starts with a back of a length delivery, coming at chest height and Shaw somehow manages to get his bat on its way. He passes the strike to Warner, who plays two dots. 

Warner then rotates the strike in the fourth ball. 

Shaw hurts his fingers in the fifth ball as the physio rushes to the scene. DC: 6/0 (1.5 overs)

David Warner and Prithvi Shaw walk out to the Delhi innings. 

Sam Curran leads the attack for Punjab. 

Delhi Capitals: Mukesh Kumar, Abishek Porel, Ripal Patel, Praveen Dubey, Sarfaraz Khan

Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh, Sikandar Raza, Matthew Short, Rishi Dhawan, Mohit Rathee

Delhi Capitals: David Warner(c), Prithvi Shaw, Philip Salt(w), Rilee Rossouw, Axar Patel, Aman Hakim Khan, Yash Dhull, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh

Apart from Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar too had starred for Punjab when the team met Delhi at their home. The spinner had scalped four wickets in his quota and had given 30 runs. 

However, Brar shouldn't be as effective as he was the last time considering the nature of the pitch. Delhi has a slow one, while in Dharamsala we can expect it to be on the quicker side.

Ishant Sharma has been one of the biggest positive in Delhi Capitals' camp. He has so far managed eight scalps from seven matches. 

He has got good assistance from Khaleel Ahmed, who has returned to action after missing out on a few matches.

If we look at Delhi Capitals batting, skipper David Warner, wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh have given the team some momentum with the willow. But once they depart, the middle order just crumbles.

Warner is leading the charts with 384 runs from 12 matches, Phil Salt has managed 189 runs from seven innings.

Mitchell Marsh too has shown potential with the bat, while Rilee Rossouw has made some healthy contributions in recent outings. 

Delhi, who are already out of the play-offs race, have been heavily let down by their batters. Barring Axar Patel, none of the Indian batters have failed to put a fight from Delhi camp.

Despite a great domestic season, Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan failed to carry forward the momentum in the IPL and DC were forced to drop the two from XI.

Shaw managed 47 runs in the six innings he played, Sarfaraz managed 53 runs from four innings.

Despite boasting of a good bowling attack, with the likes of Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, and Arshdeep Singh, Punjab Kings have failed to defend runs.  

Despite having Kagiso Rabada, Ellis have been preferred over the Proteas quick, mainly because of his underwhelming performance. He managed five scalps from four matches, and has leaked runs at an economy of 9.75.

However, the move has not paid any dividends, with PBKS failing to defend 215 against Mumbai Indians and 180 against Kolkata Knight Riders.

There was a turnaround in the clash against Delhi, where the team defended 168.

Punjab Kings will hope for a much improved outing with the bat. The last time the two sides met, opener Prabhsimran Singh waged a lone battle. 

The opener scored 103 off 65 balls, which featured 10 boundaries and 6 maximums. 

While Punjab will hope for a repeat from Prabhsimran, they will also hope that others fire up too.

The two teams met last week and Punjab walked away with a 31-run win against the Capitals, which also gave them a major boost as far as their NRR is concerned. 

Punjab will hope for a repeat tonight. 

A win tonight against Delhi will take to Punjab to 14 points from 13 matches, also helping them climb fifth on the table. However, a win is not something Punjab would be satisfied with, they'll be aiming for a big win in order to improve their net run-rate (NRR). 

Punjab's NRR stand at -0.268, while Mumbai Indians, who already have 14 points from 13 encounters, stands at -0.128. 

The two can be troubled by Royal Challengers Bangalore, who too can reach 16 points after the league stages. Their NRR stands at +0.166, mainly because of their 112-run victory over Rajasthan Royals. 

Punjab Kings have 12 points from as many matches, and can accumulate as much as 16 wins, provided they win their remaining two fixtures. 

If Punjab manages to do that, they will remain in contention for playoffs, a defeat in any come as a major blow to that. 

Punjab will also want to look to boost its NRR, which will come into play if to decide the teams advancing to the playoffs.