IPL 2020: Match 16, DC vs KKR- DC Predicted Playing XI

Delhi Capitals (DC) made a thunderous start to the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team, led by Shreyas Iyer, edged past the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in a Super Over thriller and then rolled over the mighty Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

However, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) gave them a bit of reality check, beating them by 15 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. The Capitals are next set to face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on October 3 in Sharjah in the second of Saturday’s doubleheader.

Both teams will be playing at Sharjah Cricket Stadium for the first time and the conditions there will be different from Dubai and Abu Dhabi. As far as the Capitals are concerned, whether or not they resort to any changes for the next game, remains to be seen.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Delhi Capitals for DC vs KKR game: 

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw)

The Capitals’ openers- Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan- haven’t quite lived up to the expectations thus far. The former notched a sparking 64 against the Super Kings, but then he flattered to deceive in the other two matches. The Young Turk will want to show some consistency at the top of the order.

He got 99 against KKR back in 2019 and that should keep him in a positive frame of mind. Dhawan, on the other hand, has scored 69 runs, but he has been far from his very best. He has a mere strike-rate of 115, which has to go up if he has to help his team in the powerplay.

The left-hander perished to Rashid Khan in the last game and has strained. Both Shaw and Dhawan are quality personnel without a doubt and it seems a matter of time before they put forth their A-game.

Middle-order (Shimron Hetmyer, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rishabh Pant (WK))

In the middle-order, Rishabh Pant, their leading run-scorer in this edition, has looked the most fluent. However, though he has an average of 48, he has to work on his strike-rate of 118.51. It’s an open secret that Pant can hit a long ball and he doesn’t allow the bowlers to settle down.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer has also looked scratchy, albeit he has scored 82 runs at a decent average of 27.33. In the last game, he got out while trying to take on Rashid Khan. Shimron Hetmyer batted at the top against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). But in the last two matches, he has batted lower down the order.

In the previous match, he smashed left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma for two sixes to score 21. To his sheer dismay, he got out at the wrong time when the Capitals needed someone to step on the gas.

All-rounders (Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel)

Marcus Stoinis put forth his best game against the Punjab-based franchise. Not only did he score a brisk half-century, but also got two wickets, including that of Mayank Agarwal, who got 89 in a losing cause. Ever since then, Stoinis has gone quiet. He neither picked a wicket nor did he score runs.

Axar Patel bowled only two overs in the last game and that raised a lot of eyebrows as he has an economy of 4.60. The left-arm spinner has kept a lid on the run-scoring even in the powerplay. Patel is no mug with the bat and he would dearly wish to contribute with some runs in the lower order.

Bowlers (Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Amit Mishra)

The bowling department isn’t expected to undergo any changes, barring any unforeseen circumstance. Ishant Sharma replaced Avesh Khan in the last match and he couldn’t make a breakthrough. But he has the prowess to make a comeback.

Kagiso Rabada has arguably been their standout performer thus far. He has seven wickets to his name at an incredible economy of 6.25. He has delivered, irrespective of any stage of the matches. Anrich Nortje was impressive in the first two games, but he had a bit of a rough outing in the previous match.

Neither could he get a wicket nor could he stop the batters from scoring runs. For the Capitals, it will be hard to leave Amit Mishra out for Ravi Ashwin. He got two important wickets in the previous match, one of which was of David Warner’s.