IPL 2020 | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals - Statistical Preview
Kagiso Rabada has taken 21 wickets in 10 matches.
|Two teams coming off losses in their previous game, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals will take on each other in a crunch encounter on Saturday. While Delhi have the purple patch of Shikhar Dhawan for their aid, Kolkata have been struggling to find the team combination since the start.
Form GuideÂ
Kolkata Knight Riders - L W L L W
Even after putting Eoin Morgan at the helm, Kolkata have struggled to do any good to their fortunes with only 1 win in the last 3 matches. They have looked like an absolute mess which was quite evident in their last match, where they could only score 84 runs in 20 overs. None of their batsmen have been consistent, which has been the main reason for their downfall. Captain Morgan has failed to lead the team from the front, coming in to bat as the last recognised batsman against RCB. Adding to that, they have to clear the Sunil Narine mess. Hence, all in all, they have multiple problems to deal with but they donât seem to have any solution.Â
Delhi Capitals - L W W L W
What a fantastic run they are having. They have looked clinical from the start with every player executing their roles to perfection. They have a settled XI that they donât need to tinker with and in fact, they have a great bench strength to replace the existing players, which is very essential in a long tournament. Although they got defeated in the last match by Punjab, they still didnât look that bad a side with Shikhar Dhawanâs brilliant hundred. They have multiple match-winners, who are in-form, which makes them one of the most dangerous teams in the league, evident by their number 1 standing on the points table. Hence, having won 7 matches out of 10, they would back themselves to add another 2 points to their tally.Â
Key Batsman
Kolkata Knight Riders - Shubman Gill
So far, he has not done exceptionally well opening the innings for Kolkata, having scored 310 runs at a strike rate of just 111.82. Barring his strike rate, which has struggled to go high, he has been timing the ball well, however, he has taken the role of being the anchor way too seriously. But he is a class player and he would definitely be looking to make a comeback against Delhi after getting out for 1 against Bangalore. In the last match H2H against Delhi, he was batting well before getting out on 22-ball 28 runs, which shows that he is comfortable with Delhi bowling.Â
Delhi Capitals - Shikhar Dhawan
Dhawan is a man who now canât seem to do anything wrong, scoring two back to back hundreds and becoming the first man in IPL to do so. In each of the last 4 matches, he was able to cross the mark of fifty, remaining not out on 3 of those occasions. He also has given a thrashing reply with his bat to his critics, who criticized him for his slow strike rate by scoring runs at a strike rate of over 170. Thereâs hardly any argument against Dhawan being the key batsman for Delhi at the top and Delhi would he continues his terrific form.Â
Key Bowler
Kolkata Knight Riders - Lockie Ferguson
Without a doubt Ferguson has been excellent with the ball, winning the game for Kolkata against Hyderabad in the Super Over by giving just 2 runs. In the normal match as well, he took 3 wickets for 15 runs, making him the silver lining in Kolkataâs management mess. He was again brilliant in the last game against RCB, giving just 17 runs for 1 wicket. He has got his yorkers and other variations on point, which has been the main reason for his success apart from his express pace. Hence, he will the bowler that Delhi will have to look out for in order to win the game.Â
Delhi Capitals - Kagiso Rabada
The current Purple Cap holder, Rabada has been extremely efficient with the ball, taking wickets like walking in the park. Having taken enormous 21 wickets in 10 matches, he has led the Delhi bowling lineup with a great temperament. In the last match against Punjab as well, he bowled quite well, taking 2 wickets for 27 runs, extending his lead at the top of the wicket-takers table. Although the match ended in Punjabâs favour, he was able to dismiss the set batsmen at the crease, displaying his brilliant run so far. Hence, he will be the key bowler for Delhi against Kolkata.
Probable XI
KKR: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy.
DC: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Daniel Sams, Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin, Tushar Deshpande.
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
When to Watch: Oct 24, 3.30 PM IST
Where to Watch: Star Sports Network and Hotstar (in India)
