IPL 2017 | Match 32 Preview: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils

04/28/2017

Delhi Daredevils return from a week-long break and will take on a dominant Kolkata Knight Riders, who are at the top of the points table, at the Eden Gardens tonight. It will be their second meeting of the season with former champions KKR winning the first by four wickets.

Delhi have only two wins from six games this season but their defeats have been close encounters. KKR, meanwhile, are on a roll with six wins from eight outings.

Head to Head:

KKR lead 11-7 with one other abandoned.

Last Meeting:

KKR won with a ball to spare at the Kotla thanks in main to Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan after Delhi posted a challenging 168/7.

Fan Predictions:

As part of the preview, we bring to you fan predictions for the talking points of the game. The predictions are sourced from the newest fantasy game on the block – Nostragamus. If you want to make your predictions and win prizes, click here.

Who will win?

KKR hold an advantage of 11-7 in the 19 games they have played against each other in the IPL. In the current season, KKR have a good record – winning 5 and losing only 2, which is in stark contrast to DD's season – who have won 2 and lost 4. With KKR clicking in every department, they have become the team to beat in this season's IPL. On the other hand, Delhi Daredevils' inconsistent batting lineup has been one of the factors that have been hindering their chance to seal a top 4 spot. With KKR playing DD at home, it is going to be a piece of cake for Gambhir's men who have been in fine form in every department. We predict KKR to win this match with ease.

Fans verdict: The fans agree, with 74% predicting a Kolkata victory.

How many wickets will KKR lose in the powerplay?

A. <=2 B. >2

KKR have lost 1.57 wickets on an average in the Powerplay overs whereas DD have managed to claim 2 wickets on an average in the Powerplay. Previously, in their reverse fixture of this season, KKR lost 3 wickets in the Powerplay. But this time around, we predict KKR might end up losing just a wicket as it is pretty clear that Narine will opening the innings against DD to do the damage early in the innings which has a high probability of losing a wicket early. However, more than 2 may be a bit of a stretch.

Fans verdict: The fans think so, too, with 88% predicting that Kolkata will less than 2 wickets in the powerplay.

Predicted XI:

KKR: Gautam Gambhir (C), Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav/Ishank Jaggi, Colin de Grandhomme, Chris Woakes, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav

DD: Sanju Samson, Sam Billings, Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Corey Anderson, Chris Morris, Pat Cummins, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Zaheer Khan (C).

Key players:

Nathan Coulter-Nile (KKR): After being a few days rest following his man of the match performance against RCB, the Aussie is expected to play a big role on the pace-friendly Eden strip.

Zaheer Khan (DD): Zaheer needs to spearhead the attack if Delhi are to check in-form KKR.

Pre-match chatter: We should win close games. If you see the points table, we have a good net run rate. When a team is doing well, the net run rate is high. We need a winning momentum. In the next nine days, we are playing five matches. It is a very important phase. If we can string a winning momentum in this phase, things will change by May 6. - Zaheer Khan, Delhi skipper.

Time: 4 PM

Venue: Eden Gardens Stadium, Kolkata

TV Listings: Sony Six HD, Sony Six, Set Max, Sony ESPN