Delhi Capitals will be looking to mathematically seal the play-off spot when they face Kolkata Knight Riders on October 24.
High flying Delhi Capitals would expect more from their batsmen after an underwhelming performance in the loss to Kings XI Punjab when they take on a low-on-confidence Kolkata Knight Riders in match number 42 of Dream11 IPL 2020.
Shikhar Dhawan has been in red hot form for Delhi, but even his record-setting hundred was not enough to save the side from a defeat against Kings XI Punjab. The lack of contribution from other batsmen cost Delhi the game. Young Prithvi Shaw needs to bat with more responsibility at the top since Dhawan may not be able to rescue the side all the time.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer has not been hitting the ball as fluently as he was before suffering a side strain. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant also looked poor during a scrappy inning against KXIP. The young wicketkeeper made his return from a hamstring injury this week.
Iyer and Pant, along with Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, form the backbone of DC. The Delhi based team is set to qualify for the playoffs. However, all their batsmen need to be back in the form if they want to win the trophy.
Pacer Anrich Nortje has played a key role in Capitals’ superb run thus far along with his South African compatriot Kagiso Rabada. The former missed the game against KXIP due to injury, while the latter had a rare off day. If Nortje comes back for the KKR game, then it will add sting to DC’s deadly bowling attack.
KKR is heading into the contest after an embarrassing batting performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Blown away by Mohammed Siraj’s furious spell, KKR managed just 84 runs on the board. It certainly was a confidence-crushing defeat, so KKR needs to regroup quickly.
Sitting at fourth place in the table with 10 points, they would be desperate to increase the tally to stay alive in the play-offs race. Even the change in captaincy has not helped much in improving the team’s performance.
The performance of pacer Lockie Ferguson has been the only bright spot for them amid the disappointment of Andre Russell’s poor run. Russell missed out on the last match due to an injury. It will be interesting to see if the team management brings him back on Saturday. Moreover, Pats Cummins is yet to justify his hefty price tag this season.
KKR needs a collective effort from its batting order to cement their place in the top four. The constant change in the batting order has not helped them much as well.
Both teams will have a lot of things on the line. However, the victory on Saturday will mean much more for KKR in terms of the race for the playoffs.
By Aashish Jaju