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Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals will clash against each other at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday.
Kolkata Knight Riders secured a convincing five wicket victory over Punjab Kings to register their second win of the season. KKR now have two wins in their six matches so far, with their only victories coming against Sunrisers Hyderabad and PBKS.
Delhi Capitals suffered a narrow loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore, after they lost by just one wicket. DC have been one of the most impressive teams so far this season, winning four of their six matches so far. Rishabh Pant’s men sit on the third spot on the league table, having won four out of their six matches so far.
KKR opened their campaign with a victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, it went all downhill from there as they lost four successive matches ever since. They lost to Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in succession. They bounced back in style against Punjab Kings, defeating them by five wickets. Eoin Morgan led from the front, scoring an unbeaten knock of 47 runs from just 40 balls. Prasidh Krishna was the standout bowler for his side, picking up three wickets in his four-over spell, and conceding just 30 runs.
On the other hand, Delhi Capitals fought valiantly, but fell short by just 1 run against Royal Challengers Bangalore. DC had Bangalore on the backfoot, after they were reduced to a score of just 60 runs in the first nine overs, losing three wickets. AB de Villiers scored an unbeaten knock of 75 runs off just 42 balls, for which he was adjudged the player of the match award. Shimron Hetymer played a brilliant innings, scoring 53 runs off just 25 balls, to bring his team back into the match.
Key Players
Shikhar Dhawan has been in poor form in the last two matches. The Delhi batsman could manage to score just 6 runs against RCB, after he was dismissed by Kyle Jamieson. The Indian opener is the current Orange Cap holder, scoring 265 runs in his six innings at an average of 44.17 and a strike rate of 140. Dhawan has been one of the most consistent batters in IPL cricket in the past few seasons, and scored over 600 runs in the last edition. He will hope to regain his form against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Rishabh Pant has managed to score 183 runs so far in this tournament, at an average of 45.75. The Delhi skipper scored an unbeaten knock of 58 runs against RCB, but failed to take his team past the finishing line. Pant batted a strike rate of around 120, which is quite unusual for a player of his quality. He scored his half century of the season against Rajasthan Royals, where he scored 51 runs off just 32 balls.
Shubman Gill has been in dismal form so far this season. A lot was expected from the Indian batsman, coming into the IPL season, but he failed to deliver so far. Gill has managed to score just 89 runs this season in his six outings. In the previous three outings, Gill has scored just 20 runs. He was dismissed for a duck against Chennai Super Kings. In his last outing against PBKS, he was dismissed for a score of just 9 runs. He will hope to regain his form against Delhi Capitals on Thursday.
Varun Chakravarthy has been one of the standout bowlers for KKR this season. The Indian spinner picked up two wickets against Rajasthan Royals, which includes the key scalps of Jos Buttler and Shivam Dube. He was impressive against Punjab Kings in the last match, picking up one wicket in his four-over spell, and conceding just 24 runs. He has picked up 7 wickets in his six outings so far, at an average of 26.43.
Prediction
Delhi Capitals are coming on the back of a loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, DC have done well so far this tournament, and are currently third on the points table. On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders finally managed to get back to winning ways, after their impressive victory over Punjab Kings.
Kolkata Knight Riders are a really strong unit, with enough depth in their batting and bowling departments. If KKR can maintain their winning form, they are strong contenders for the playoff spots, despite their slow start to the season.
Delhi Capitals lost another key player, Ravi Ashwin after he pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons. However, Axar Patel has come back into the squad, and he has done a fine job in his opening two matches. Ishant Sharma replaced Ashwin in the last game, and put in a strong performance against RCB, picking the key wicket of Devdutt Padikkal.
