Live Score: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils
OVERS 4: Chris Lynn hit Shahbaz Nadeem for a four and scored seven in the over. KKR 19/1
OVERS 3: Another brilliant over from Trent Boult - a wicket and five runs in it. He bowled 10 consecutive dot balls to begin with in the innings. KKR 12/1
OVERS 2.3: OUT! Trent Boult struck early, Sunil Narine gone for 1. KKR 7/1
What a start from Trent Boult, he is yet to concede a run.
OVERS 2: Another good over for DD. Chris Morris gave away seven runs, which included a six. KKR 7/0
OVERS 1.4: SIX! Chris Lynn smacked Chris Morris for first boundary of the innings. KKR 7/0
OVER 1:
SIX DOTS! Trent Boult started with a maiden over. KKR 0/0
Here we go...Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine to start the KKR innings. Trent Boult with the ball for DD.
TOSS | Delhi Daredevils win toss and opt to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders
Playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (w/c), Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi, Tom Curran, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav
Delhi Daredevils: Jason Roy, Gautam Gambhir (c), Rishabh Pant (w), Glenn Maxwell, Shreyas Iyer, Vijay Shankar, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Shami, Trent Boult
Changes in playing XIs
KKR: Tom Curran in for Mitchell Johnson
DD: Chris Morris in for Dan Christian
Pitch Report
"I can see a line; longer grass near the crease. It could put the bowlers off. 138 was chased down easily in the previous game. But this is a different wicket. The wicket looks beautiful. 160 will be the par score"
- Brett Lee
PREVIEW
Skipper Dinesh Karthik will face a big test when a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns with a resurgent Delhi Daredevils, led by double title winning former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, in a much-anticipated IPL clash today.
After back-to-back defeats, Karthik-led KKR will be desperate for a revival, while Delhi will hope to continue their momentum after snapping a two-match losing streak in style against Mumbai Indians on Saturday.
Kolkata had made a winning start to their campaign against Royals Challenger Bangalore but successive defeats to Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the next two matches have put them in a spot of bother.
Delhi, on the other hand, lost to Kings XI Punjab in their opener and then went down against Rajasthan Royals in a rain-hit match. But the Gambhir-led side bounced back in style against Mumbai with Jason Roy smashing an unbeaten 91 in his debut match for DD.
It will be Gambhir who will have the upper hand despite DD's poor 8-12 head-to-head record against KKR. Gambhir, who was associated with KKR since 2011, has better knowledge of the conditions and he will be keen to make a point against his former franchise, who did not retain him this year.
Included in the DD side at the expense of Colin Munro, Roy showed his prowess with a sizzling display as the Englishmen smashed his career best T20 score to pull off a tricky last ball victory.
Gambhir can heave a sigh of relief after their batting combination clicked following some experimentation in the first two matches. He too would like to score some runs against his former franchise.
As DD look to climb up the table, KKR will be keen to arrest their slide and they will have to do a lot of soul-searching -- first and foremost would be to get their batting organised.
Bringing in-form Sunil Narine down the order did not help their cause and he might be back at his opening slot. KKR also need to back the Under-19 World Cup winning duo of Shubman Gill and Shivam Mavi.
The youngster duo didn't get enough time in the middle to prove themselves as Gill, primarily a No 3 batsman, came only at No 7, while Mavi's raw pace and energy were left untested as he was not introduced during the Powerplay.
Karthik would also hope that his deputy Robin Uthappa, who is a KKR veteran, shoulders more responsibility with the bat as his scores of 13, 29 and 3 have been a big letdown.
Asked to open, Uthappa looked clueless particularly against Bhuvneshwar Kumar and it remains to be seen whether he would open again with DD boasting pace duo of Trent Boult and Shami up front.
It's also high time that Karthik backs his skill and makes an impact before questions are raised about his captaincy as he would be under immense pressure in one of the biggest tests of his career.
