Match Details
Delhi Capitals v Kolkata Knight Riders
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Saturday, October 3rd 2020
16:00 SA Time
Preview
It’s the first doubleheader day of the season and Delhi Capitals (DC) square off against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match number 16 of this IPL. Both teams have had a good start to this tournament, winning two out of their three games.
Delhi started with two wins in a row. They came back from the dumps against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and tied the game before coming out victorious in the Super Over. They were clinical in the game against Chennai Super Kings. However, they are coming into this game with a loss. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) beat them by 15 runs as Delhi’s batting couldn’t take off.
The Indian trio of Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant have all been getting good starts but haven’t kicked on and made it big. It is Delhi’s bowling that has come to the fore. Kagiso Rabada has led the pack well and has taken off from where he left off last season. Anrich Nortje has been impressive while the spinners Axar Patel and Amit Mishra have been tight as well.
On the other hand, KKR started with a heavy defeat against their nemesis Mumbai Indians (MI) and they’ll be happy about the fact that that game is out of the way. Since then, the Dinesh Karthik-led side have cruised along. The two-time champions beat SRH and Rajasthan Royals (RR) comfortably. They boast of a strong batting line-up and the young, aggressive pace attack has come to the fore nicely. The only cause of concern for KKR will be the form of Kuldeep Yadav with the ball and Sunil Narine’s form with the bat at the top of the order.
Delhi don’t boast of a great record against KKR (win-loss of 9-13). However, they beat KKR in both their encounters last season.
Injury and Availability News
Ravichandran Ashwin is still recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered in the first game. He might sit out for another game or two.
Probable Playing XI
Delhi Capitals
Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma
Kolkata Knight Riders
Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik (c & wk), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Key Players to watch out for
Kagiso Rabada: The ace South African fast bowler has been brilliant in this season so far. Rabada has picked up seven wickets at a strike-rate of 10.2. Moreover, his battle against Andre Russell will be the one to watch out. Remember, he bowled a brute of a yorker to the hard-hitting Jamaican all-rounder in the Super Over last year.
Shubman Gill: The 21-year-old batsman has got off to a great start this season. After a low score against MI, Gill has hit his straps. He has got scores of 70 not out and 47 in the last two games and has been KKR’s best batsman so far. He will be the one to watch out for.
Kamlesh Nagarkoti: The world waited for Nagarkoti to make his debut and return to competitive cricket after more than two and a half years. He’s played a couple of games but the young fast bowler has already shown a lot of promise in this tournament. He can field incredibly well, can tonk the ball a long way and can bowl with good pace. Thus, he comes as a complete package.
Value Bets
Delhi Capitals
Shikhar Dhawan to be DC’s top batsman at 3.00.
Kagiso Rabada to be DC’s top bowler at 2.25.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Shubman Gill to be KKR’s top batsman at 3.00.
Pat Cummins to be KKR’s top bowler at 2.75.
Prediction: Delhi Capitals to win at 0.74.