Indian Premier League 2024

'Apna Himachal Pradesh' - Fans react as Dharmashala Stadium set to host remaining home games of PBKS in IPL 2023

Punjab Kings (PBKS) will now play their remaining two games of IPL 2023 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamshala

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Akshay
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HPCA, Dharamshala

HPCA, Dharamshala (Source - Twitter)

Punjab Kings (PBKS) will now play their remaining two games of IPL 2023 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamshala. It was selected as the second home ground of PBKS after Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali for the ongoing season. PBKS will now take on Delhi Capitals (DC) for match number 64 of the season on May 17th.

Both teams will be coming after locking horns with each other in their previous encounter at the Arun Jaitley Stadium where PBKS registered a convincing victory DC by 31 runs. With that, DC were also eliminated from the race of qualifying into the playoffs, while PBKS still have a chance to make into the top 4 if they win both their remaining matches. After DC, PBKS will take on Rajasthan Royals in Dharamshala for their last league match of the season.

For PBKS, skipper Shikhar Dhawan can play a pivotal role as an opener as he is the leading run-scorer for them in IPL 2023 despite missing a few games due to an injury. He has amassed 356 runs from the nine matches played so far at an average of 50.86 and a strike rate of 143.55 with three half-centuries, with his highest score remaining 99 not out against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

PBKS aiming playoffs qualification

Apart from Dhawan, his opening partner Prabhsimran Singh was also quite impressive with the bat as he scored 334 runs from 12 matches at an average of 27.83 and a strike rate of 153.92. He started off the season with a 60-run knock against RR. After that, he hasn’t been that consistent as he used to get out cheaply.

However, he impressed everyone with his maiden IPL hundred in the previous game against DC on a pitch where other batters were struggling to score runs. He got out after scoring 103 runs off 65 balls as PBKS posted a total of 167 runs losing 7 wickets against DC

Talking about the points table, PBKS, currently, stand in the eighth position after winning six out of 12 matches played so far. DC remain at the 10th position as they won only four matches out of the 12 games played so far in IPL 2023. It will be an important game for PBKS in order to increase their chances to qualify into the playoffs of IPL 2023.

Here's a look at fans' reaction on Dharamshala hosting IPL match tomorrow:

 

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