Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking to making it two wins in two games at Narendra Modi Stadium when they play Delhi Capitals on Thursday. Eoin Morgan’s men will face a stern test against one of the best teams in IPL 2021.
KKR come into this game on the back of a good win against Punjab at the same venue earlier this week. They found themselves in a sticky position while chasing a modest total, but Eoin Morgan’s return to form eased the pressure. KKR ended a losing streak of four games with this victory. Morgan’s men need to go on a winning run to climb up in the points table.
Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals agonisingly fell short by a run against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday. Valiant efforts from Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer while chasing a good total went in vain. However, this performance further highlighted the strength of Delhi as they look set to make it to the playoffs for the third season in a row.
Kolkata has a marginal edge over Delhi in the head-to-head record in IPL. Kolkata Knight Riders have 14 wins against Delhi in 26 encounters. Going by the form in IPL 2021, Delhi is favourite to win this game. DC can consolidate position in the top four by winning on Thursday, while KKR can sneak into the top four with a win depending on the result between Mumbai and Rajasthan in the afternoon game.
Predicted Teams
Delhi Capitals: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna
Key Battle to Watch Out
Shivam Mavi bowled very tight lines and lengths against Punjab Kings on this pitch earlier this week. Mavi bowled four on the trot against Punjab, so Eoin Morgan is likely to use him in the same manner. The young pacer will come up against aggressive Prithvi Shaw. Shaw has scored two half-centuries in IPL 2021 until now. The young opener puts pressure on the bowler by scoring runs quickly from the word go. The two former India U-19 teammates will have a big role in setting the tone for their respective teams on Thursday.