IPL 10, Match 18, DD v KKR, Preview: High flying Knight Riders against in-form Delhi Daredevils

It will be the battle of equals when the two in-form teams lock horns in the 18th match of the season. The Delhi Daredevils will host the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Feroze Shah Kotla for the high-profile encounter. Delhi had registered a thumping win over the Kings XI Punjab in their first home game of the season. They will take a lot of confidence from the game and back their chances in this match as well.

On the other hand, the spirits of Kolkata Knight Riders are quite high as well. They beat the defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous match of the season. Talking about the team form, both teams look to be in the same page this year. They have endured one defeat and managed to win the other games thus far. Coming into the game, they have settled units.

The batting line-up of both teams do not rely heavily on the overseas firepower. The Indian contingent has been doing the bulk of the scoring for the two sides in the frame. While the Kolkata Knight Riders have experience in their Indian batsmen, the Delhi Daredevils do feel the dearth of it. The Delhi camp boasts of some exciting young players in the top order and it will be worth watching how they fare up against the quality KKR bowling.

Toss: Delhi Daredevils won the toss and opted to bat

Quotes from the toss

Gautam Gambhir: We’d have bowled first as well. We are a good fielding first. We’re a good chasing side. Hopefully, we restrict them and chase it down. Every game is important. You don’t prepare in a different way. Coulternile comes in for Boult as he is someone who can bowl first and hit the deck hard.

Zaheer Khan: We’re gonna bat first. Batting first has been working for us. We have put up runs. Hopefully, there will be little more bounce. Other night, it was dry. Hopefully, some more bounce. Two changes: Shami comes in for Nadeem. Angelo comes in for Corey as he is not well.

Focus will be on

Zaheer Khan

Delhi skipper Zaheer Khan had surprised everyone when he returned with a three-wicket haul against the Rising Pune Supergiant. However, his most recent outing against Kings XI Punjab was not very fruitful. He conceded 38 runs in his allotted quota of 4 overs and had no wickets to show in his bowling figures. He will definitely want to prove that the three-for was not a one match wonder and he still has it in him to guide the young Delhi bowling brigade. He has been spot on with his captaincy too and that is a positive sign for the team.

Sunil Narine

KKR spinner Sunil Narine was the surprise package that the Knight Riders had come up with in the match against the Kings XI Punjab. He opened the innings and had added 76 runs in just 34 balls with Gautam Gambhir. KKR skipper went on with the same move yet again in the match against SRH. However, on that day, Narine only got a single digit score to his name. While Narine is bound to succeed with the ball in hand, it is the new dimension of batting that will see him take centre stage in the match.

Sam Billings

Young English batsman Sam Billings got starts in the first two matches for his side this season. However, there were speculations that he cannot hold on to the fort for long. He slammed all his critics with a match-winning fifty in the previous match. Having said that, there is always room for more development. Billings can chirp in with quality contributions at the top of the order. He can be absolutely destructive in the powerplay and the opposition needs to keep that in mind.

Team Combination – Delhi Daredevils

The Delhi camp is likely to go with an unchanged squad in the match. They may make a few amends in their batting order though. Shreyas Iyer might be promoted back to his usual spot in the lineup as the opener of the team. He is likely to open with the settled opener, Sam Billings. Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant in the middle order have already proved their mettle with the bat. Karun Nair is the only batsman to have not made a mark until now.

The lower middle order boasts of power hitters like Corey Anderson and Chris Morris. Both players can be absolutely threatening on their day if they get going. Bowling has looked largely settled for the Daredevils. Skipper Zaheer Khan has been ably helped by Pat Cummins along with Chris Morris with the new ball. In the spin department, there are the likes of Amit Mishra and Shahbaz Nadeem,

Team Combination – Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata Knight Riders stuck to their same squad in the previous match that had played the match prior to that game. It will only be a surprise to see them tinker with their winning combination on the day. Pretty much like the Delhi Daredevils, KKR are also expected to play the same line-up in the match. It will be worth watching whether they stick to Sunil Narine as their opener along with Gautam Gambhir.

Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey have been amongst the runs this season thus far. Surya Kumar Yadav is the only player from the Knight Riders side who is yet to contribute with a significant score this season. Yusuf Pathan got into his groove in the hitting mode in the previous match. The bowling department looks absolutely settled with the pace trio of Chris Woakes, Trent Boult and Umesh Yadav. Kuldeep Yadav assists Narine when it comes to the spin department.

Playing XI:

Delhi Daredevils: Sanju Samson, Sam Billings, Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Angelo Mathews, Chris Morris, Pat Cummins, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Zaheer Khan(c)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Gautam Gambhir(c), Robin Uthappa(w), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Colin de Grandhomme, Chris Woakes, Kuldeep Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Umesh Yadav

StatAttack 

3 – Zaheer needs 3 more wickets to complete 100 IPL wickets.

5.5 – Yusuf Pathan bowled with an economy of 5.5 last year – the best for any bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2016.

3816 – Number of runs scored by Gautam Gambhir in the IPL history – the third leading run scorer in the list.