IPL 2018: Match 26, DD vs KKR- Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted XI

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be coming off a long break following their defeat against the Kings XI Punjab at the Eden Gardens. The team now travel to the Feroz Shah Kotla where they will face Delhi Daredevils (DD), who has been in shambles off late. The Knights also have their own set of concerns, which hasn’t kept them in a positive frame of mind.

They don’t have plenty of players to choose and with the likes of Mitchell Starc and Kamlesh Nagarkoti being ruled out, the weakness in their bowling has been exposed to some extent. After the next game, KKR would have played half of the games and it will be a challenge for them to find the right combination. Meanwhile, in our article, take you through the probable playing eleven of the Knights.

Openers (Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine)

Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine’s opening stand is highly unlikely to be changed. The duo has been struggling to some extent, but against the Daredevils, who have been lacklustre thus far, the pair might take them to a blistering start. Lynn found the going tough in the first five games, but has shown an unflappable temperament and came back with a gutsy knock against Punjab.

Sunil Narine, on the other hand, has been impressive and has done the job which he was required to. He started the tournament with a half-century against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and then made a useful contribution against the Rajasthan Royals. Both Lynn and Narine are aggressive in their style of batting and the Knights would be pinning hopes on them to take the team off to a good start.

Middle-order (Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill)

The middle-order has done reasonably well and has been able to get the scoreboard moving without any hiccup. Robin Uthappa strained in the early games, but has been able to get going as the tournament has progressed. Nitish Rana, with a couple of impressive knocks under his belt, has already carved a reputation for being a reliable batsman when the chips are down.

Dinesh Karthik hasn’t scored big yet, however, he has chipped in with some crucial knocks, which have helped KKR propel their innings. From a leader’s perspective, he will be under the pump as the Knights are a fair distance away from qualifying for the playoffs. Shubman Gill hasn’t had much to do just yet, coming below Andre Russell, who bats at number seven.

All-rounder (Andre Russell)

Andre Russell has been among the key cricketers of the Knights. He has been phenomenal with his power-hitting prowess. He has been a tad off-colour with his medium pace and has gone for a few runs in the six games. However, he pulled his hamstring owing to which he couldn’t bowl. The Knight would be hoping for the Windies all-rounder to recover and take the field tomorrow at the Kotla.

Bowlers (Piyush Chawla, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Javon Searles)

The bowling lineup might go through some revamp following the pasting by Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. Javon Searles, who was roped in for 30 Lakhs, might make his debut in the mega event. Tom Curran, who hasn’t quite been on top of his game, might miss out. Shivam Mavi has been clocking consistently over the  140kmph mark, which is a healthy sign for the Knights.

The role of the spinners would be pivotal as they are the ones who strangled the Daredevils in their erstwhile game. Sunil Narine has delivered the goods, barring one odd expensive spell against the Royals. Kuldeep Yadav, with international experience up his sleeve, will also be banked on.

Here’s DD Predicted XI for the game against KKR