The nail-biting second Super Over win against defending champions Mumbai Indians was certainly a morale-lifter but the inconsistent Kings XI Punjab have another tough battle at hand when they take on table-toppers Delhi Capitals in an IPL match in Dubai, UAE on Tuesday.

The match went into a Super Over last time the two teams met and more than Delhi, KXIP will be hoping that it doesn’t come to that again.

Having lost two tight games they should have won at the start of the season, KXIP managed to get on the right side of the results in the last couple of games, although it was too close for comfort by their own admission.

Needing seven off the last two overs with nine wickets in hand, they should have wrapped the game against RCB much before the last ball and even in the IPL’s first double Super Over against Mumbai Indians on Sunday night, the KL Rahul-led side could have closed it out in regulation time.

KXIP's results in IPL so far

Match Day/Date/Time Venue Result Total points for season
DC vs KXIP 20 Sep, Sun (1930) Dubai KXIP lost in Super Over 0
KXIP vs RCB 24 Sep, Thu (1930) Dubai KXIP won by 97 runs 2
RR vs KXIP 27 Sep, Sun (1930) Sharjah KXIP lost by 4 wickets 2
KXIP vs MI 1 Oct, Thu (1930) Abu Dhabi KXIP lost by 48 runs 2
KXIP vs CSK 4 Oct, Sun (1930) Dubai KXIP lost by 10 wickets 2
SRH vs KXIP 8 Oct, Thu (1930) Dubai KXIP lost by 69 runs 2
KXIP vs KKR 10 Oct, Sat (1530) Abu Dhabi KXIP lost by 2 runs 2
RCB vs KXIP 15 Oct, Thu (1930) Sharjah KXIP won by 8 wickets 4
MI vs KXIP 18 Oct, Sun (1930) Dubai KXIP won the Super Over 6

DC's results in IPL so far

Match Day/Date/Time Venue Result Total points
DC vs KXIP 20 Sep, Sun (1930) Dubai DC won Super Over after match was tied 2
CSK vs DC 25 Sep, Fri (1930) Dubai DC won by 44 runs 4
DC vs SRH 29 Sep, Tue (1930) Abu Dhabi DC lost by 15 runs 4
DC vs KKR 3 Oct, Sat (1930) Sharjah DC won by 18 runs 6
RCB vs DC 5 Oct, Mon (1930) Dubai DC won by 59 runs 8
RR vs DC 9 Oct, Fri (1930) Sharjah DC won by 46 runs 10
MI vs DC 11 Oct, Sun (1930) Abu Dhabi DC lost by 5 wickets 10
DC vs RR 14 Oct, Wed (1930) Dubai DC won by 13 runs 12
DC vs CSK 17 Oct, Sat (1930) Sharjah DC won by 5 wickets 14

Death bowling worries for Kings

Death bowing and the form of star player Glenn Maxwell in a shaky middle-order remain a concern for a team that needs to win its remaining five games to make the playoffs.

The fact that KXIP have struggled this season despite having tournament’s top two run-getters in openers Rahul (525) and Mayank Agarwal (393) best sums up their erratic run.

On a positive note, the successful return of Chris Gayle has reduced the burden on the shoulders of the star openers, especially allowing Rahul to play more freely.

Nicholas Pooran has shown his lethalness time and again but is yet to play a match-winning knock and the pressure is increasing on Maxwell the batsman, who is proving to be more useful as a spinner operating in the powerplay.

However, the team is likely to stick to him in the game against Delhi Capitals.

Team to beat

Delhi are clearly the team to beat in the tournament and have gained in confidence with a close win against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday night.

While Prithvi Shaw needs to be back among the runs after a couple of ducks, his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan elevating his game bodes well for the team that has won seven out of the nine matches it has played.

Axar Patel has shown his utility not just with the ball but also with the bat. His three sixes off Ravindra Jadeja helped Delhi get over the line in the final over finish against CSK.

With an envious bowling line-up, Delhi have shown they can defend even below-par totals. Playing in the absence of an injured Rishabh Pant, time is running out for Ajinkya Rahane to make an impact.

DC v KXIP H2H

Matches Delhi wins Punjab wins Tied
DC v KXIP 24 11 14 0

Squads

KXIP squad

Batsmen Bowlers All-rounders Wicketkeepers
Chris Gayle Mohammed Shami K Gowtham KL Rahul
Mayank Agarwal Mujeeb ur Rahman Glenn Maxwell Nicholas Pooran
Karun Nair Arshdeep Singh Deepak Hooda Prabhsimran Singh
Sarfaraz Khan Hardus Viljoen James Neesham
Mandeep Singh M Ashwin Chris Jordan
J Suchith Tajinder Singh
Harpreet Brar
Darshan Nalkande
Sheldon Cottrell
Ravi Bishnoi
Ishan Porel

DC squad

Batsmen Bowlers All-rounders Wicketkeepers
Shreyas Iyer Ishant Sharma Axar Patel Rishabh Pant
Prithvi Shaw Amit Mishra Harshal Patel Alex Carey
Shikhar Dhawan Avesh Khan R Ashwin
Ajinkya Rahane Sandeep Lamichhane Lalit Yadav
Shimron Hetmyer Kagiso Rabada Marcus Stoinis
Keemo Paul Daniel Sams
Mohit Sharma
Tushar Deshpande
Anrich Nortje