KKR to face off against Delhi Capitals in Sharjah
Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns against Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals on Tuesday. The first of the weekday doubleheader will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
The 41st game of the Indian Premier League 2021 will commence at 3:30 pm (IST).
Expected playing XI
DC
Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (C/WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Avesh Khan.
KKR
Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, and Prasidh Krishna.
Probable best performers
Avesh Khan
Avesh has been a silent assassin for the Capitals. The pacer has been Delhi’s highest wicket-taker in this tournament with 15 scalps in the bag already.
In the UAE, he hasn’t been as effective as he was back in India, but the right-arm quick must have gotten used to the conditions of the new venue by now.
If he continues to give Delhi breakthroughs, KG Rabada and Anrich Nortje will be there to take care of the rest.
Venkatesh Iyer
Iyer has been a sensational find for the Knight Riders. Replacing Nitish Rana as the opener, the left-hander made his mark right from the debut. Thanks to his contributions with Shubman Gill, KKR got back to winnings ways in the UAE after a shaky start to the campaign.
His reverse sweeps and driving have been inch-perfect so far. His failure in the last CSK clash should not put him off the track he is on.
The Delhi pace cartel needs to get rid of him early in the powerplay to avoid much damage.
Match prediction
Delhi Capitals have one of the best bowling attacks, as Rishabh Pant put it earlier, that helps them batter the opposition at low totals. In the last game against Rajasthan Royals, Delhi won by 33 runs despite setting up a mediocre total of 155.
This goes to show how lethal their pace cartel is. They have been equally devastating with the bat. In the India-leg of the tournament, Prithvi Shaw took charge and had a field day against all bowlers.
When he hit a form slump after coming to Dubai, Shreyas Iyer got going. The former Delhi skipper bagged Man of the Match in the previous game. His partnerships with skipper Pant have been lethal in both of Delhi’s last games.
Kolkata had their best all-rounder, Andre Russell, injured in the last game. Bangladesh’s Shakib al Hasan is likely to fill in his boots. KKR have gotten better with the bat since coming to the UAE, but Eoin Morgan’s men don’t seem in the shape to beat a well-rounded unit like Delhi Capitals.
Hence, DC should cruise to another victory in Sharjah today.
