The match 25 of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be an evening encounter between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday, 29 April 29. It will be the second outing for both teams at Motera.
KKR’s campaign at this venue started with a comfortable five-wicket triumph over Punjab Kings, while Delhi’s luck ran out against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as they lost the game by a solitary run. Now going onto this fixture, both teams put their best foot forward in order to prevent any further slip-up.
There has been a visible trend in this year’s IPL. The top four teams – Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai – have maintained their dominance over the bottom four to an extent that the tournament has had a two-tiered look to it.
Thus, for a team like KKR, currently placed at No. 5 on the table, the door for Playoffs will only open if they can go past any of these sides. From this point of view, tonight’s fixture is mighty important for Eoin Morgan’s team.
The conditions in Ahmedabad favours the batters. The average first-innings score in past seven T20 encounters has been 164. Dew can become a decisive factor in the second half. Meanwhile, if the ball is not wet, the slower bowlers may come into play. The pacers too have something in the track as well if they are ready to bend their backs.
Overall, it is going to be a win-toss-and-field encounter. However, out of seven T20 matches at this remodelled venue, chasing teams have lost on four occasions.
Team news
For the past few games, the KKR top-order batting has failed to provide momentum in the Powerplay overs. After starting the tournament on a high note, Nitish Rana’s performance has dipped significantly, while Shubman Gill has been off-colour throughout.
Considering this, the think-tank may try out Sunil Narine at the top tonight. If Nairne can go after the likes of Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada and Avesh Khan in the first six overs, there will be less pressure on the middle-order. The likes of Morgan, Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell can play their natural game later in the innings.
On the bowling front, Morgan needs to be more proactive against Delhi’s top four, which is their biggest strength. Against the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw, he needs to attack straightway with his premier wicket-taking bowlers., Varun Chakravarthy and Narine.
KKR are unlikely to make any changes in their playing XI tonight.
From Delhi’s point of view tonight’s game is perhaps the ideal opportunity to try out Sam Billings in place of a struggling Steven Smith. Billings is a good player of spin, and has a decent record against KKR.
Rishabh Pant needs to be careful against KKR’s power hitters down the order. Their overdependence on Kagiso Rabada has backfired in their last two matches; it can happen again.
Key players
Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders): Narine has done a decent job with the ball since his return to the XI. He is known to be particularly effective against left-handers, and Delhi have three key three of them (Dhawan, Pant and Shimron Hetmyer). Narine can be a trump card for Morgan tonight.
Amit Mishra (Delhi Capitals): The resurgence of Mishra’s leg-spin has been one of the success stories for Delhi in this this season. His guile, trajectory and length have been spot on so far. So tonight, irrespective of the dew, against the likes of Russell and other KKR power-hitters, Mishra’ four overs can emerge as a decisive factor.
Prithvi Shaw (Delhi Capitals): Shaw has a couple of half-centuries with a top score of 72 in the ongoing IPL. In six matches, he has scored 187 runs at 153. Furthermore, in four previous outings he averages 60.25 against KKR at 164. So, for Delhi, a cameo at the top by Shaw can put them in the driver’s seat early in the game.
Head to head
Kolkata have won 14 out of 26 decided matches and Delhi 12.
Likely XIs
Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan
Kolkata Knight Riders: Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Sunil Narine, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Mavi
Prediction: Delhi likely to topple KKR tonight.