In Match 26 of VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2019), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will host Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata Friday. Andre Russell's big-hitting prowess will challenge Kagiso Rabada's inch-perfect yorkers for the second time in IPL 2019 as DC will look shed away their inconsistent run. Kolkata Knight Riders are placed at the second position in IPL points table 2019 with eight points from six matches. On the other hand, Delhi Capitals had an inconsistent run in IPL 2019 and they are at sixth position in IPL 2019 points table with six points.
Check 2019 IPL points table here
Player battle: Andre Russell vs Kasigo Rabada
It was a thrilling Super Over that decided the tie in their first meeting in IPL 2019, with Delhi riding another Rabada special in that one over to victory. Russell had smashed a whirlwind 28-ball 62 to help KKR post 185/8 but Shaw scored 99 to tie the game for Delhi before Rabada bowled perfect yorkers to defend 10 runs and seal the deal. Andre Russell has amassed 257 runs from five innings, out of which 150 have come in sixes alone. His average has been 128.50 while the strike rate is a mind-boggling 212.39, something that has left the opposition clueless on how to stop him. However, Delhi Capitals have Kasigo Rabada, who stopped him with a pin-point Yorkers when DC vs KKR clash in New Delhi. In IPL 2019, Rabada has took 11 wickets in six matches so far at an average of 15.90, conceding 7.55 runs per over.
CAB president Sourav Ganguly in Delhi Capitals camp
Away from the match, the spotlight will also be on where former KKR and India captain Sourav Ganguly sits during the match. Ganguly will be a 'visitor' at his 'home' ground of Eden Gardens as he is currently donning the advisor's hat in the Delhi franchise, drawing 'conflict-of-interest' charges against him. According to reports, Ganguly, who knows the Eden turf like the back of his hand, is likely to depose in person before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ombudsman regarding the matter as Justice (Retd) DK Jain might just want to hear him out before taking the final call.
Three Kolkata-based fans -- Bhaswati Santua, Ranjit Seal and Abhijeet Mukherjee -- in a letter to the BCCI Ombudsman-cum-Ethics-Officer Jain alleged that Ganguly's dual role is a case of conflict of interest, and they fear he might have it his way with the pitch curator ahead of the game. Ganguly, however, in his written reply to the Ombudsman's notice, has categorically denied the charge.
Delhi Capitals Team news
Delhi Capitals will fancy their chances against KKR after registering a confidence-boosting four-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last outing. Captain Shreyas Iyer led from the front with a matured 67 after ace South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada returned figures of 4/21 to dent RCB's charge. Young Prithvi Shaw also looked in sublime touch when he hit five consecutive fours off Tim Southee, each of which was a shot to savour. A chink in Delhi's armour though has been Shikhar Dhawan's woeful form and the World Cup-bound opener would like to get some runs as early as possible.
Kolkata Knight Riders Team news
Kolkata Knight Riders were outplayed by Chennai Super Kings in their previous game despite Andre Russell patient 44-ball 50. None of the other batsmen got going, and even with the ball they looked flat against the Chennai batters. Rabada and Co. will have their task cut out against Russell but KKR would like their other batsmen to get runs to reduce the pressure on the West Indies all-rounder. On the bowling front, the spinners are yet to fire for KKR who have traditionally relied on them.
Here are the playing 11 probables of both the teams:
KKR playing 11: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna, Gurney
DC playing 11: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Colin Ingram, Kasigo Rabada, Rishabh Pant, Sandeep Lamicchane, Ishant Sharma, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra/Ishant Sharma, Chris Morris
IPL 2019, Match 26: KKR vs DC Live streaming details
Date and Day: April 12, 2019, and Friday
Place: The Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Time: 8:00 pm IST
KKR vs DC match live streaming will be available live on Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 in English Commentary and Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD in Hindi Commentary. One can also live stream the RR vs KKR 2019 IPL match on Hotstar app, Tatasky mobile app and Hotstar website. The fans can also watch in-depth analysis of live match on Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD.
Here are the squads of both the teams:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (capt), Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Nikhil Naik, Joe Denly, Shrikant Mundhe, Nitish Rana, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, KC Cariappa and Yarra Prithviraj.
Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer(capt), Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant(wk), Colin Ingram, Keemo Paul, Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Ankush Bains, Harshal Patel, Manjot Kalra, Chris Morris, Sherfane Rutherford, Jalaj Saxena, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nathu Singh, Bandaru Ayyappa, Colin Munro.