Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals: Delhi Capitals face in-form KKR test

Teams Status

Kolkata Knight Riders Form and Team News:

Kolkata Knight Riders will enter the contest against Delhi Capitals as favorites, largely because of their impressive start to the campaign where they’ve already won three out of the first four matches.

In their previous outing, KKR thrashed Mumbai Indians by five wickets in a match where they chase down the target of 162 in just 16 overs.

The management will be hoping to see the players continue producing similar kinds of performances in the matches to come.

So far, the side’s strength has been their bowling where pacer Umesh Yadav is leading the way with nine wickets at an outstanding average of just 9.33 along with an economy-rate of less than six runs per over.

Veteran off-spinner Sunil Narine has been a great help for the right-arm pacer as well where despite claiming just two wickets in the first four matches, he has conceded runs at an economy-rate of just 4.75.

Inclusion of Pat Cummins, who played a match-winning innings in the outing against Mumbai, has surely strengthened the bowling lineup even further.

In the batting department, West Indies’ explosive all-rounder Andre Russell is leading the charts with 106 runs. He is one of the only two batters from the KKR to score a half-century in the competition.

Delhi Capitals Form and Team News:

Delhi Capitals will enter the contest against the Knight Riders as an underdog. The reason is their rather disappointing start to the campaign where they’ve only managed to register two points from the first three matches.

In the previous outing, the Capitals suffered a six-wicket defeat against newcomers Lucknow Super Giants and therefore, the management will be hoping to see the players produce a much better display in the matches to come.

Like KKR, Delhi’s problem this season has been their batting where only one batter — opener Prithvi Shaw — has registered a half-century in the first three matches of the campaign. He is also leading the run charts for the Capitals after scoring 109 runs at an average of 36.33.

The bowling looks in a much better shape where left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav is leading the way with six wickets at an average of 16.33. He is well-supported by two left-arm pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman, who have taken four and three wickets, respectively.