IPL 2024, Match 16: Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders Match Preview

Match No. 16 in the IPL 2024 will witness Delhi Capitals (DC) locking horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, April 3.

Delhi managed to wake up from their slumber as they registered their first win in IPL 2024 in their last encounter against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). After starting the season with two consecutive losses, the nightmares of last season might have started haunting the Delhi fans. However, they put their best foot (and also their best playing XI) forward and defeated the defending champions by 20 runs after weathering an MS Dhoni storm.

In the first couple of matches against Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals, the Capitals chose to play middle-order batter Ricky Bhui ahead of the talented opener Prithvi Shaw. This forced them to open with Mitchell Marsh and David Warner. Bhui failed to make an impact as he registered scores of 3 and 0 in the two games. Delhi recalled Shaw for their clash against CSK and the U19 World Cup-winning captain showed his class with a quickfire 43 off 27 balls. He added 93 runs inside the first 10 overs with David Warner and helped his team get to a total of 191/5 in their 20 overs. Warner and Delhi captain Rishabh Pant registered half-centuries.

While the target was stiff, Chennai batters would have fancied themselves to pull it off. However, the Capitals bowlers were on the money from the first ball and they gave nothing away to the opposition batters. Khaleel Ahmed breathed fire inside the powerplay as he registered stunning figures of 2/9 in his three overs, getting prodigious swing with the new ball. Pant used as many as seven bowlers and most of them persisted with their specific plans. Mukesh Kumar had a memorable outing as he bagged three wickets in as many overs in the latter stages of the innings. Dhoni's unbeaten 37 off 16 wasn't enough to deprive Delhi of its first win in IPL 2024.

Meanwhile, the Knight Riders have had an ideal start to IPL 2024. They are sitting second on the points table after winning both their matches so far in the season. Shreyas Iyer and Co. started with a four-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at home. They followed it up with a comfortable seven-wicket win at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Two of KKR's most reliable soldiers, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have hit the ground running. In the first match, Russell starred with the bat as he scored a blistering fifty. Meanwhile, Narine bowled a miserly spell against the destructive batting lineup of Hyderabad.

Against Bengaluru, they made an impact with their other quality. Narine stood out with the bat with a mesmerizing 47 off 22 balls, while Russell used the slower balls to good effect and bagged a couple of wickets. Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas got runs under their belt and that should give them a lot of confidence. KKR have ticked a lot of boxes during the first couple of games and they would love to record a hat-trick of wins to continue their unbeaten streak in IPL 2024.

Also Check: Orange Cap in IPL 2024 - Most Runs

Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium Pitch Report and Conditions

The pitch was a belter in the first match and something similar is expected to greet the two teams on Wednesday. However, the new ball could swing around and batters will have to show some discipline. If they can get through the first couple of overs, they could help themselves to a lot of runs. Out of the 14 IPL games at this venue, seven have been won by teams batting first, while chasing teams have also won the same number of matches.

Click Here: DC vs KKR Live Score, Match 16

DC vs KKR Probable Playing XI

Delhi Capitals:

After finally getting the taste of success, the Capitals are expected to stick to the same XI that played against Chennai. Anrich Nortje's form will be a cause of concern but he has missed a lot of cricket due to injuries. More match time will surely help him return to his best.

Predicted XI: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel, Axar Patel, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav

Impact Player: Rasikh Salam/Ishant Sharma

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Nitish Rana missed the last game reportedly due to the finger injury he sustained during KKR's opening encounter against Hyderabad. Angkrish Raghuvanshi replaced him in the last game but didn't get a chance to bat. If Rana is fit, he should walk back into the playing XI. The rest of the team looks settled and if the out-of-form Mitchell Starc can do what Khaleel did with the new ball against Chennai, the former two-time champions will stand in good stead. There could be a toss-up between Anukul Roy and Suyash Sharma for the role of the Impact Player.

Predicted XI: Phil Salt (WK), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy

Impact Player: Anukul Roy/Suyash Sharma

Also Check: Purple Cap in IPL 2024 - Most Wickets

DC vs KKR Head-to-Head Record

Also Check: DC vs KKR Dream11 Prediction

IPL 2024: Match 16, DC vs KKR Broadcasting details: