Kolkata: The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head to the national capital for the first time in three years post the pandemic, to face a Delhi Capitals side who are still winless but with a point to prove on Thursday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
Contests between the two sides have always produced some enthralling encounters that have brought much joy to both sets of fans and the neutrals.
The home team have had a tough start to their campaign losing all their 5 games so far while the Knights will be looking to get a win after the last couple of games didn’t go our way.
The two teams have faced each other 32 times in the past with the Knights coming out on top 16 times and DC winning 15. This makes this fixture one of the most closely contested in the IPL.
The last time the two sides met in Delhi was a game for the ages as the game ended in a tie and Delhi just about edged the super over by 3 runs. Andre Russell had top scored for the Knights on that occasion scoring 62 of just 28 balls to power the Knights to a competitive total of 185.
Russell has had a mixed start to the current campaign and will be looking to turn a corner when we face DC on Thursday. The talismanic allrounder played a handy cameo against Mumbai last time round and will carry confidence and form into this fixture against DC.
Elsewhere, the Knights batting unit, particularly the middle order, has collectively clicked to post competitive totals and chase imposing scores on a variety of surfaces. The unit has shown great depth to dig themselves out of tough situations to keep opposition attacks on their toes.
Southpaws Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh have all looked in good form. The spin trio have looked dangerous as well picking up wickets at regular intervals and helping stem the flow of runs during the middle overs.
The pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium hasn't been as easy to score on as some of the other venues in the competition and both teams will be aware that the track tends to slow down considerably during the latter half of the innings making strokeplay just harder.
Historically, the Arun Jaitley Stadium has assisted spinners and our spin trio would definitely be the key factor heading into this fixture.
Former Skipper Gautam Gambhir has top scored in this fixture with 569 runs while Umesh Yadav and Sunil Narine have both taken 25 wickets. Spinner Varun Chakravarthy also has his career best figures of 5/20 against Delhi.
With 2 crucial points up for grabs, the Knights will be looking to make use of the helpful conditions at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and get the result on Thursday in a bid to return to the top half of the table as they approach the halfway point in the season. (UNI)