The in-form Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be intending to carry their formidable start in this year's IPL forward when they take on the home team Delhi Capitals (DC) at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi on Saturday. The onus of the match will revolve around the battle between KKR's big hitting Andre Russell and the spin attack of Delhi Capitals.
DC got off to a good start to this year's IPL journey when they convincingly defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by 37 runs in their opening encounter. But their success story was short-lived, as they succumbed to defending champions Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday. Dhoni led CSK exploited the Kotla wicket that assisted spinners and troubled the DC batsmen with the likes of Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja in their forte.
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CSK took full advantage of the slowness of the pitch as batting became challenging as the game wore on. Chasing 147 runs, CSK chased down DC's target with the loss of 4 wickets and 2 balls to spare. The spin trio of DC- Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatiya and Amit Mishra, will benefit from the Kotla wicket and will have to pitch the ball up to the batsmen in an attempt to lure them into playing big shots. They also need to be aware of the power hitting force that the KKR Possesses and must execute their plans well.
Indian batsmen Shikhar Dhawan and Rishab Pant both looked in prime touch during the previous two outings. Given the nature of the wicket and the explosive nature of Rishabh Pant, it is to be seen how he plays against the spin trio of KKR comprising of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, and Kuldeep Yadav. Captain Shreyas Iyer will be looking for his International stars to put a better performance if they have to go a long way in the tournament.
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KKR on the other side who have two wins out of two under their belt will be high on confidence. With the likes of young Nitish Rana, Robin Uthappa, Andre Russell, and Shubhman Gill amongst runs in this edition's IPL, the lineup seems pretty balanced. The wily left-handed Rana, has impressed everyone with his batting in both his previous outings. But the main trump card of KKR is Andre Russell, who easily smacks the ball out of the park, also claims a couple of crucial wickets with his bowling and is an incredible fielder. KKR's team looks well balanced as they have the right mix of bowlers, batsman that ensure that all the departments are taken care of. While Kuldeep, Narine, and Chawla form the spin force, Russell, Lockie Ferguson and young Prasidh Krishna form the pace trio.
With unpredictability revolving around the nature of the wicket and the slowness off the pitch, both the teams will be looking forward to win the toss and put the opposition into bat.
When and how to watch:
Date: March 30 (Saturday), 2019
Time: 8 PM IST
Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
Tv guide: Star Sports Network
Live streaming: Hotstar
Expected Eleven:
Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Amit Mishra, Kasigo Rabada, Axar Patel, Trent Boult, Keemo Paul, Rahul Tewatia, Colin Ingram
Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (capt), Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson
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Squad:
Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Kasigo Rabada, Axar Patel, Chris Morris, Colin Munro, Avesh Khan, Bandaru Ayyappa, Harshal Patel, Nathu Singh, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult, Hanuma Vihari, Jalaj Saxena, Keemo Paul, Rahul Tewatia, Ankush Bains, Sherfane Rutherford, Colin Ingram and Manjot Karla.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (capt), Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Nikhil Naik, Joe Denly, Shrikant Mundhe, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, K C Cariappa and Yarra Prithviraj
