Delhi Capitals are having a horrible campaign in IPL 2023 as they’ve lost their first 5 games and are yet to open their account this season. Nothing has gone their way and they’ll be eager to turn things around in this game. They have been pretty average as a batting unit with David Warner the only consistent batter but he too is not at his fluent best. The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh and others have failed miserably until now. Manish Pandey has looked in decent touch.
The bowlers have been quite ineffective and that’s a big reason for their poor performance. The likes of Anrich Nortje, Axar Patel, Mustafizur Rahman and others have failed to pick up wickets and they need to improve on that. Delhi will be eager to register their first win of this season.
Kolkata, meanwhile, started off well but they’ve lost their last two games and are in the 7 positions with 3 wins and 2 losses in 5 matches. Their batters are in good form with the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana scoring consistently. Andre Russell is yet to fire with the bat he’s a key batter for them. Jason Roy is expected to play this game and he can strengthen their batting.
The spin trio of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Suyash Sharma are the main bowlers for them and their pacers have been below average until now. The likes of Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav must step up in this game. Kolkata will look to bounce back on the winning track in this match.
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Delhi Capitals
David Warner and Manish Pandey are the only consistent performers with the bat. Delhi is heavily dependent on their overseas players this season. The likes of Mitchell Marsh, Prithvi Shaw and others must start scoring runs. We may see one of Rovman Powell or Rilee Rossouw back in the eleven in this match. Their middle order has struggled pretty badly and it needs to rectify quickly.
They also need some consistency in the bowling department as none of the bowlers has bowled well consistently. They don’t have many options with the ball and Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje and Axar Patel will be their key bowlers.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata’s batting is their strength. Venkatesh Iyer is leading their leading batter as he scored a brilliant century in the last game. Rinku Singh has been phenomenal while Nitish Rana has also played a couple of good knocks. Andre Russell is yet to fire and they’ll expect him to come well in this game. Jason Roy is expected to replace Rahmanullah Gurbaz in this match and he can score big on his day.
The Pacers have been very ineffective for Kolkata and they’ll heavily depend on their spinners to do well. Lockie Ferguson and Shardul Thakur will need to step up and so does Umesh Yadav.
Pitch/Venue Report
There was good assistance for the spinners in the last game against Delhi. The Pacers also did well. There will be some movement with the new ball and the spinners be in the game as well. Overall, it’ll be a balanced wicket and it may get a little easier to bat in the second innings. The average first innings score here is 177 and the chasing sides have won 52% of the games played here.
Probable Playing XI
Delhi Capitals: David Warner (c), Prithvi Shaw, Manish Pandey, Rilee Rossouw, Lalit Yadav, Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Abhishek Porel (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Khaeel Ahmed/Mukesh Kumar
Kolkata Knight Riders: Jason Roy, Narayan Jagadeesan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Players to Watch Out For
David Warner
Warner has 228 runs in 5 games at an average of 45.60. His strike rate is on the lower side but he is the only consistent batter from Delhi and he’ll look to lead from the front in this match.
Venkatesh Iyer
Venkatesh Iyer scored a brilliant 104 runs in the last game. He has 234 runs to his name at an average of 46.80. Iyer has been the best batter for Kolkata and they’ll expect him to continue his good form.
Axar Patel
Axar Patel, surprisingly, has done well with the bat this season than the ball. He has scored 129 runs at an average of 25.80 and his strike rate is 165.38. He has been decent with the ball as well. Axar will be a key player for his team.
Varun Chakravarthy
Varun Chakravarthy has picked up 7 wickets in 5 matches and he is the best bowler for Kolkata. He has picked up 9 wickets against Delhi including a 5-wicket haul back in 2020.
Key Matchups
David Warner vs Umesh Yadav: Runs – 94, Balls – 63, Dismissals – 5
Prithvi Shaw vs Lockie Ferguson: Runs – 36, Balls – 21, Dismissals – 2
Andre Russell vs Mustafizur Rahman: Runs – 14, Balls – 11, Dismissals – 1
Nitish Rana vs Axar Patel: Runs – 37, Balls – 31, Dismissals – 2
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