Sharjah: A dominant capital in Delhi will increase their chances of finding a place to play when they face Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
A cloud of uncertainty over KKR’s injured all-round contestant Andre Russell’s participation gives Delhi more reasons to feel optimistic ahead of their afternoon match at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
With a view to a first triumph, DC is on track after dominating most of their opponents with aggressive cricket this season, and looks pretty confident to not only score the playoffs, but also perform better than last year when they lost to Mumbai Indians in the clash with the summit.
DC is second in the pick sequence with eight wins and 16 points from 10 outings, while two-time winners KKR find themselves in fourth position with four wins and six defeats.
While the Delhi Capitals won an overwhelming victory against Rajasthan Royals in the previous outing, KKR will enter the game after experiencing a turnaround in the hands of Chennai Super Kings, despite a tight target of 172 on Abu Dhabi’s big terrain.
KKR missed Russell towards the end after walking off the field with a thigh muscle problem after bowling three proper overs.
In his absence, Prasidh Krishna was given the responsibility to bowl the 19th over, and although he impressed with his dying ball in the past, he had no answer on Sunday to a riotous Ravindra Jadeja.
Against one of the in-form teams of this edition, KKR will do their job if they dare the campaign against DC.
Eoin Morgan and his team know that there will be very little margin of error as they have to play a game that is of greater importance to their vantage point.
KKR will have to deliver at all levels if they challenge the power of Delhi Capitals, led by the dynamic Rishabh Pant, and are currently flooded with players in the form.
The people like Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill will have to fire unanimously to ensure the team can compete in batting.
Rahul Tripathi will enter the match with confidence, with a top score of 45 with CSK. The bowlers will then have to stick to the plans.
DC, on the other hand, is sitting pretty at the moment.
They put on an excellent performance to defeat Rajasthan Royals in the final outing, and according to their form, DC is likely to continue in the same vein.
The people like Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Shimron Hetmyer form a very formidable group with the bat.
While playing in the bowling, the deception of the spin duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel is well complemented by the tempo and bounce of Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Avesh Khan.
Source: Telangana Today