Kolkata Knight Riders will face Delhi Capitals on Saturday at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The match is going to be immensely important in terms of the playoff race. Kolkata Knight Riders are still at the fourth place in the league table with 10 points in 10 matches so far. After a heavy defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders have to win this match to keep their playoff hopes alive. Their net run rate is very much poor as they have faced 3 heavy defeats in the tournament. At this moment, it is seeming that Kolkata Knight Riders will need 3 wins in 4 matches to qualify for the playoffs.
On the other hand, Delhi Capitals are sitting at the top of the table at this moment with 14 points in 10 matches so far. Delhi Capitals will be eyeing to get another win in the bag to secure their qualification in the playoffs this season.
Pitch Report:
The match is going to take place at Abu Dhabi. We have seen the bowl to swing in the first few overs of the match in the previous game of Kolkata Knight Riders. There will certainly be something for the bowlers in the first few overs. So, the toss winning Captain will like to chase the total considering the condition.
Head To Head Record:
Total Matches Played: 25
Kolkata Knight Riders Won: 13
Delhi Capitals Won: 11
No Results: 1
Predicted Starting XI; Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Delhi Capitals:
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins, Chris Green, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy.
Delhi Capitals:
Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Hetmyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin, Anrich Nortje, Tushar Deshpande.
Key Players:
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Eoin Morgan
Lockie Ferguson
Delhi Capitals:
Shikhar Dhawan
Kagiso Rabada
Captain And Vice-Captain Selection:
Captain Choices: Eoin Morgan, Shikhar Dhawan
Vice-Captain Choices: Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Shreyas Iyer
Probable Winner: Delhi Capitals
Kolkata Knight Riders are certainly missing two-star players Sunil Narine and Andre Russell at this moment. Andre Russell has picked up an injury against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is not fit yet and the management will not risk him in this match. Sunil Narine is also injured at this moment and he might also miss this match. So, it will be very interesting to see who will be the fourth foreigner of Kolkata Knight Riders.
Tom Banton has been given a chance to prove himself in the previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, he has failed to give Kolkata Knight Riders a good start in this match. The top three batsmen of Kolkata Knight Riders are not looking very much confident and that’s why they are not able to take the advantage of the power play.
Prithvi Shaw’s form might be a thing to worry for the management of Delhi Capitals. However, the form of Shikhar Dhawan will give them the confidence to do well in this stage of the tournament.
