May 08, 2025: Rain has delayed the toss for the highly anticipated Match 58 of the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.
The IPL confirmed the delay on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, posting:
“Toss in Match 58 between @PunjabKingsIPL and @DelhiCapitals in Dharamshala delayed due to rain.”
With the covers on and light showers continuing, the start of this crucial playoff-contending fixture remains uncertain.
Punjab Kings are currently flying high at third place on the points table and are riding on a wave of two successive wins. A victory today would take them to the top of the table, making them the first team to officially seal a playoff berth in the 2025 IPL season. Under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy, PBKS recently dominated Lucknow Super Giants, clinching a 37-run win at the same venue.
Delhi Capitals, led by Axar Patel, occupy the fifth spot, teetering just outside the playoff cutoff. After a strong start with four consecutive wins, DC’s form faltered—managing only two wins in their last six matches. Their most recent outing saw them narrowly escape defeat after posting just 133 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Frequent shuffles in the top order—having tried six different opening pairs—have added to their woes.
Match Stakes:
- Punjab Kings (3rd place): A win takes them to 1st and confirms playoff spot.
- Delhi Capitals (5th place): A loss could critically damage their chances of qualifying.
Punjab Kings Squad:
Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Josh Inglis (w), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Praveen Dubey, Musheer Khan, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Harnoor Singh, Pyla Avinash, Mitchell Owen.
Delhi Capitals Squad:
Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (w), Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Darshan Nalkande, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira, Tripurana Vijay, Manvanth Kumar L, Madhav Tiwari, Sediqullah Atal.
Venue Note:
The Dharamshala stadium, known for its breathtaking Himalayan backdrop, has historically been prone to weather-related interruptions in May, particularly during the pre-monsoon showers.