IPL 2020 | Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Statistical Preview

10/02/2020

A game that can potentially put them at the top of the table, Delhi Capitals will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the graveyard for bowlers - Sharjah Cricket Stadium - on Saturday. In Sharjah, expect the batsmen to pile up runs in a canter and give a fest to cricket fans this weekend.

Form Guide

Delhi Capitals: L W W

Even though with a couple of wins Delhi Capitals have found themselves at the top-half of the table, that doesn’t mean their campaign was anywhere near perfect. They needed an other-worldly Marcus Stoinis to help them tie the first encounter, which they subsequently won, and then the second was more of a CSK handing the game on a platter. With a lot going around the top of the batting order, DC will be eager to shrug that off and secure the valuable two points against KKR.

Kolkata Knight Riders - W W L

After losing the campaign opener against Mumbai Indians by a huge margin of 49 runs, Kolkata Knight Riders made a fine comeback, winning the next two games on the back of their young Indian core which performed over expectations. They will love to carry that on to Dubai where they will need their batting unit to deliver at a faster rate and then be disciplined with their ball later.

Key Batsmen

Delhi Capitals - Rishabh Pant

Be it, Sanju Samson or Mayank Agarwal, whoever has started to hit out in Sharjah early, they had a better crack at a big score. In the last match at the venue between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, there were a total of 29 sixes hit during the game and the figure rises to 62 if you take the previous two encounters into account. So it is imperative the biggest role in the for tomorrow’s game will fall on Rishabh Pant’s shoulder, as he is the most capable six-hitter in the side at the moment. So brace for some Pant-e-monium if he goes into berserk mode.

Kolkata Knight Riders - Eoin Morgan

Do you remember that Afghanistan game in last year’s World Cup when Eoin Morgan put Rashid Khan to the sword? He showed no mercy while hitting sixes and that’s why he will have a big role to play in KKR line-up alongside Andre Russell. Morgan showed a glimpse of his batting against Sunrisers Hyderabad when he scored a no-holds-barred 47 and something bigger than that is what KKR will expect from him.

Key Bowlers

Delhi Capitals - Kagiso Rabada

With seven wickets from three games, Kagiso Rabada has by far been the best bowler in the Delhi Capitals line-up and being parsimonious at the same time, he has emerged as the most successful bowler in the competition so far from an all-round perspective. Although this is going to be his first-ever IPL match in Sharjah, don’t expect any reduction in pace. If anything, expect him to send shockwaves to the KKR side.

Kolkata Knight Riders - Pat Cummins

After a bowling performance against Mumbai Indians that made him a joke on social media, Pat Cummins ensured that the joke turned to all of them with two back-to-back stunning performances, despite failing to take many wickets. His miserly bowling, which saw him concede just 32 runs in the last two games combined, will be crucial to KKR’s chances in Sharjah.

Probable XIs

KKR : Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c&wk), Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti

DC: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Anrich Nortje

Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

When to Watch: Oct 2, 7.30 PM IST

Where to Watch: Star Sports Network and Hotstar (in India)