Can new leadership spark Daredevils revival?
Kolkata Knight Riders, who have three wins in six games, will want to find a little more consistency as they travel to the Feroz Shah Kotla
Created - 6 years ago
Form guide (most recent match first)Delhi Daredevils: lost to Kings XI Punjab by 4 runs, lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets, lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by 71 runsKolkata Knight Riders: lost to Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets (DLS method), beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets, beat Delhi Daredevils by 71 runs
One win in six games. A new captain. A squad that has failed, so far, to turn into a team. Delhi Daredevils find themselves in a quite unenviable situation. But, as Shreyas Iyer put it after taking over the team's leadership from Gautam Gambhir, there is still time for the team to make something of this season. "We have eight games in hand. There are lots of us who believe."
That belief needs to be backed up with tactical smartness. Gambhir's resignation, and his poor batting form, suggest he is also out of Daredevils' playing XI - Daredevils could bring in big-hitting New Zealander Colin Munro in his place, especially if Jason Roy is not fit. It gives them an opportunity to tear up their failed early-season templates and apply themselves afresh to the task of finding a way to bring the best out of what is - particularly on the batting front - still an excellent group of players.
Kolkata Knight Riders will try their hardest to prevent this from happening. The visitors have themselves underperformed, even if not to Daredevils' extent, and their 3-3 record doesn't quite reflect how good they have looked when they have won. Given how tight the race for the playoffs is likely to get, Knight Riders will want to string some wins together and gather some steam going into the second half of the league phase.
Chris Morris is out of the IPL due to a back injury.* Junior Dala was announced as his replacement on the afternoon of the game. Jason Roy (side strain) missed Daredevils' last game against Kings XI Punjab, but given the four-day gap between that match and this one, Daredevils would hope he's fit.
Andre Russell went off the field clutching his right thigh after bowling 1.5 overs against Kings XI, but is expected to be good to go on Friday. With his hamstrings in mind, Knight Riders have looked to lighten Russell's bowling workload this season - he didn't bowl at all in the game before the Kings XI one, against Rajasthan Royals - and it's possible he might play as a pure batsman if he is not 100%.
Delhi Daredevils: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Colin Munro/Jason Roy, 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Liam Plunkett, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Trent Boult.
Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Chris Lynn, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Shubman Gill, 8 Tom Curran, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Shivam Mavi, 11 Kuldeep Yadav.
Daredevils found a way to keep both Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn quiet, but had no answers against Andre Russell, whose breathtaking 12-ball 41 powered Knight Riders to 200. Three early wickets meant Daredevils never got going in their chase, and eventually lost by 71 runs.
Knight Riders (19.1 overs in six matches) have bowled by far the most Powerplay overs of spin of any team this season. It's partly down to circumstances: they have lost key fast bowlers to injury, have been forced to conserve Russell's hamstrings, and also happen to be blessed with an excellent spin attack.
With this in mind, Daredevils could look to unsettle Knight Riders by promoting their best players of spin up the order. At least two out of Rishabh Pant (T20 strike rate of 157.5 against spin since 2015), Colin Munro (142.5) and Glenn Maxwell (151.4) could bat in the top three if Daredevils adopt this strategy.
KKR's Nitish Rana has made a case for an India call-up with his runs and poise at the crease this season, and he has chipped in with vital wickets too - averaging 33 in six innings, with a strike-rate of 135, while taking four wickets in three innings. Also, he plays for Delhi in domestic cricket and knows the Feroz Shah Kotla very well. All these factors make Rana a smart choice to have in your team.
12.04pm GMT The preview was tweaked to reflect Chris Morris' withdrawal and subsequent replacement
That belief needs to be backed up with tactical smartness. Gambhir's resignation, and his poor batting form, suggest he is also out of Daredevils' playing XI - Daredevils could bring in big-hitting New Zealander Colin Munro in his place, especially if Jason Roy is not fit. It gives them an opportunity to tear up their failed early-season templates and apply themselves afresh to the task of finding a way to bring the best out of what is - particularly on the batting front - still an excellent group of players.
Kolkata Knight Riders will try their hardest to prevent this from happening. The visitors have themselves underperformed, even if not to Daredevils' extent, and their 3-3 record doesn't quite reflect how good they have looked when they have won. Given how tight the race for the playoffs is likely to get, Knight Riders will want to string some wins together and gather some steam going into the second half of the league phase.
Chris Morris is out of the IPL due to a back injury.* Junior Dala was announced as his replacement on the afternoon of the game. Jason Roy (side strain) missed Daredevils' last game against Kings XI Punjab, but given the four-day gap between that match and this one, Daredevils would hope he's fit.
Andre Russell went off the field clutching his right thigh after bowling 1.5 overs against Kings XI, but is expected to be good to go on Friday. With his hamstrings in mind, Knight Riders have looked to lighten Russell's bowling workload this season - he didn't bowl at all in the game before the Kings XI one, against Rajasthan Royals - and it's possible he might play as a pure batsman if he is not 100%.
Delhi Daredevils: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Colin Munro/Jason Roy, 3 Glenn Maxwell, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Liam Plunkett, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Trent Boult.
Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Chris Lynn, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Shubman Gill, 8 Tom Curran, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Shivam Mavi, 11 Kuldeep Yadav.
Daredevils found a way to keep both Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn quiet, but had no answers against Andre Russell, whose breathtaking 12-ball 41 powered Knight Riders to 200. Three early wickets meant Daredevils never got going in their chase, and eventually lost by 71 runs.
Knight Riders (19.1 overs in six matches) have bowled by far the most Powerplay overs of spin of any team this season. It's partly down to circumstances: they have lost key fast bowlers to injury, have been forced to conserve Russell's hamstrings, and also happen to be blessed with an excellent spin attack.
With this in mind, Daredevils could look to unsettle Knight Riders by promoting their best players of spin up the order. At least two out of Rishabh Pant (T20 strike rate of 157.5 against spin since 2015), Colin Munro (142.5) and Glenn Maxwell (151.4) could bat in the top three if Daredevils adopt this strategy.
KKR's Nitish Rana has made a case for an India call-up with his runs and poise at the crease this season, and he has chipped in with vital wickets too - averaging 33 in six innings, with a strike-rate of 135, while taking four wickets in three innings. Also, he plays for Delhi in domestic cricket and knows the Feroz Shah Kotla very well. All these factors make Rana a smart choice to have in your team.
12.04pm GMT The preview was tweaked to reflect Chris Morris' withdrawal and subsequent replacement
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