Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
New captain, new results?
That is what Delhi Daredevils will be hoping for, after Gautam Gambhir shocked quite a few of us, deciding to resign from the captaincy after a slow start (literally) to IPL 2018. You would have been a very brave person to predict both MI and DD would be stuck at the bottom with just a win each at this stage, but that’s where DD find themselves. After restricting KXIP to a low total in their first home game of the season a few night back, their batting failed, suffering a heartbreaking final over loss.
It has felt like an age since Kolkata Knight Riders played their last match, which was against KXIP six days ago. After a last start defeat, KKR sit a little precariously in fourth place, four points behind the top three, and equal with fifth place RR. Six days is a long time in the IPL world, where time moves by so quickly, and KKR face an important game here. Can they find their groove straight away?
Key to a Delhi Daredevils win
In the other meeting vs KKR earlier this season, DD got absolutely everything wrong. They conceded 200, and lasted just 14.2 overs with the bat, responding with 129. Will Kolta and new leadership rejuvenate a team desperate for a win?
The big key in this game for DD is to challenge KKR’s top order more than they did at Eden Gardens on April 16th. The platform was set for Andre Russell to launch, where he nailed 41 off just 12 balls to flatten DD, after great work from Nitish Rana and co. at the top.
The addition of Liam Plunkett in the last game was huge plus for DD, where they would have taken plenty of positives in keeping a strong KXIP side to 143. Can they repeat the same effort against KKR, in conjunction with a better batting performance?
Key to a Kolkata Knight Riders win
KKR’s batting continues to impress, and will be encouraged by Chris Lynn hitting form against KXIP. However, nearly a week has passed, so KKR maintaining the form with the bat is important.
However, can KKR’s spinners choke DD’s struggling line up in Kolta? If they can repeat what they did in their previous meeting against DD, they certainly have enough runs in them to beat their opponents tonight. The likes of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav will be key, after a tough outing against KXIP last time out.
Predicted teams
Does Gautam Gambhir make the DD side now that he’s given up the captaincy? Also, DD will be hoping Jason Roy and Chris Morris are fit after missing the KXIP game through injury. With a side strain and back injury respectively for those two, it’s hard to see even one of them being fit enough.
Delhi Daredevils XI: 1. Prithvi Shaw/Gautam Gambhir, 2. Colin Munro, 3. Glenn Maxwell, 4. Shreyas Iyer (c), 5. Rishabh Pant (wk), 6. Vijay Shankar, 7. Rahul Tewatia, 8. Liam Plunkett, 9. Amit Mishra, 10. Avesh Khan, 11. Trent Boult
KKR look pretty settled, and should go with their usual set up.
Kolkata Knight Riders XI: 1. Chris Lynn, 2. Sunil Narine, 3. Robin Uthappa, 4. Nitish Rana, 5. Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6. Andre Russell, 7. Shubman Gill, 8. Tom Curran, 9. Piyush Chawla, 10. Shivam Mavi, 11. Kuldeep Yadav
Stats and Facts:
- Head-to-Head: Matches: 20, DD 7, KKR 13
- Shreyas Iyer will become the second youngest captain in for DD in IPL (23 years and 142 days).
- Gautam Gambhir had been captain in every single one of his IPL games since May 2009.
- Colin Munro (142.5), Rishabh Pant (157.5) and Glenn Maxwell (151.4) all boast good strike rates against spin. With KKR bowling the most overs (19.1) of spin in powerplay overs, it could be worth opening with two of these three, potentially.
- Last time these two sides met: Andre Russell hit 41 off just 12 balls.
Prediction:
Can the change in leadership result in a win for DD? I believe they have a lot to offer, and can go one better than their previous game at home (vs. KXIP). Their batting is due to fire, and this is the game they can win.
DD to get the job done.
