The Delhi Capitals, after two disappointing losses, found a way to win courtesy their all-round team effort against the Chennai Super Kings. The Capitals hope to keep up the same winning momentum and press ahead in the competition when they take on the unbeaten Kolkata Knight Riders in Visakhapatnam. KKR have looked solid at the start of the season, registering both their wins in a fashionable manner, and now would be looking for a hat-trick of wins in IPL 2024.
DC will rely heavily on Prithvi Shaw and veteran Australian David Warner to lay a solid foundation. Meanwhile, Pant’s inspiring journey unfolds further. Despite a couple of shaky performances, the skipper showcased glimpses of his old self by notching up his maiden fifty (51 off 32 balls) of the season, indicating a gradual return to top gear.
Mitchell Marsh will have a major responsibility to deliver with the bat if Delhi wants to post or defend a total, against what seems to be a strong KKR batting lineup. Tristan Stubbs, who looked good against the Royals, would like to get more fluency into his game as the IPL caravan continues. The Capitals will look to make the best use of Axar Patel’s experience as well down the order to help provide them with that extra push.
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Khaleel Ahmed and Mukesh Kumar both had a fantastic outing with the ball last time around. These two hold the key for the Capitals with the new ball with the speedster Anrich Norjte struggling since his return to IPL so far. The experience of the veteran Ishant Sharma will come in handy as well while the spin department in the Capitals camp will be led by Axar Patel. It remains to be seen whether Kuldeep Yadav returns to the playing XI.
KKR will be banking on their openers Phil Salt and Sunil Narine to unleash their attack against the Capitals once again. With Venkatesh Iyer coming into the mix and scoring runs as well in the absence of Nitish Rana, the KKR batting lineup has been strengthened enormously. The skipper Shreyas Iyer, who was unbeaten against RCB in their last game, will have a world of confidence going into the game against the DC. Rinku Singh has not been in the center of the action in the last two games, but a lot can be expected out of him when provided with the opportunity and situation.
The disappointment for KKR in their last two games has been the big buy Mitchell Starc, who has gone for a collective 100 runs in eight overs bowled so far in the tournament. He will feel the pressure now to deliver and it will be interesting to see how he goes about his game from here onwards. Varun Chakaravarthy has not been at his best either and KKR would be hopeful for an impactful performance from his end. The highlight for KKR, however, in the bowling department has been young Harshit Rana picking up five wickets and will be expecting more out of him now.
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