Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 is midway and Delhi Daredevils (DD) are set to play one of their crucial matches at this stage against table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 32. To be played at the iconic Eden Gardens, this will be the first of Friday’s double-header, as Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will later take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). KKR, sitting on top of the table and brimming with confidence, will be the favourites playing at their home against the team that is struggling at the bottom of the table while DD will find it a task very tough to defeat the in-form knights. Full Cricket Scorecard, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2017, Match 32
KKR wins half the battle before the match with their current form and the confidence the same provides. Gautam Gambhir recently expressed his feelings after team’s defeat to Gujarat Lions (GL). The words and the way KKR bounced back since that clearly shows the intent of the skipper and of the knights. The factor that differentiates KKR from a lot of other star-studded teams is the balance between the batting and bowling. What completes them as one of the deserving teams to win the title this season is the ability of both the batting and bowling line-up to back each other.
DD, on the other hand, was a team known for their rich bowling attack. Though the batting clicked in many matches, it looks overtly reliant upon the young guns and there sure is a lack of experience as compared to their bowling which contains both talent as well as experience. Good news is, Marlon Samuels will join the squad soon and with the experience and hard-hitting quotient he brings in to the side, DD are bound to look like a changed side.
Sunil Narine has turned out to be a game-changer for KKR and will be interesting to watch out for in the match as well. Gambhir and the rest of the top-order batting has fired time and again and will have to play similarly against DD to put them under pressure. For the Daredevils, Rishabh Pant, skipper Zaheer Khan and Chris Morris will be the key players at Kolkata.
Likely XIs:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Colin de Grandhomme, Chis Woakes, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile
Delhi Daredevils: Sanju Samson, Sam Billings/ Marlon Samuels (if available), Karun Nair, Ankit Bawne, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan (c)
Story so far: KKR have won six of their eight matches and are sitting on top of the table with a heavy net runrate of 1.153. DD are currently at the bottom of the table with only two victories in their six matches.
Advantage: KKR will have the obvious support of the ever-enthusiastic Eden crowd. They will be confident after back to back victories. DD will be under pressure with the chances of making it to the top four slipping out of their hands gradually. However, looking at the recent few performances at Eden Gardens, the pacer-rich DD will surely find some positive at the venue while bowling.
Squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa (wk), Sunil Narine, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Colin de Grandhomme, Chris Woakes, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Shakib Al Hasan, Chris Lynn, Sheldon Jackson, Ankit Rajpoot, Trent Boult, Darren Bravo, Rishi Dhawan, Rovman Powell, Ishank Jaggi, Sayan Ghosh, Ramsingh Sanjay Yadav
Delhi Daredevils: Zaheer Khan(c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson, Sam Billings, Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer, Angelo Mathews, Chris Morris, Pat Cummins, Mohammed Shami, Amit Mishra, Corey Anderson, Kagiso Rabada, Ankit Bawne, Aditya Tare, Murugan Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Shashank Singh, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav, Carlos Brathwaite, Chama Milind, Khaleel Ahmed, Pratyush Singh, Ben Hilfenhaus, Marlon Samuels
News Link : Click Here
EmoticonEmoticon