When on battlefield, the tiff between the smart work and the hard work always keeps one hooked to who would win. Majority of the time the hard workers would be fooled by the smartness of the opponents. But, hardwork also gives us results at times diminishing the resource and the time spent in creating smart ideas and ideologies. One such battle is going to come up, but you, the reader, should decide whether smart work or hard work would define these two teams. C’mon all, let’s jump into the preview of the clash of the best thinkers of the game in IPL, DC vs KKR.
Overview:
Delhi Capitals: The Capitals from the city of Delhi are deeply hurt with the no-ball saga which culminated in their last match with the Rajasthan Royals and created furore in the DC camp and the social media. People took sides and opposed sides with Rishabh Pant’s behaviour of calling the players back leading to him being fined 100% of his match fee, assistant coach Pravin Amre arguing with the on-field umpires leading to one match ban for him and Thakur being fined 50% of his match fee for showing a funny, non-harmful, confused look of the umpire’s decision (LOL!). Amidst this saga, Ricky Ponting also had a “fine” time at the hotel breaking remotes and throwing bottles onto his hotel room wall (LOL LOL!). But jokes apart, this team would like to keep all aside and focus on regrouping and show to the world what they are capable of. They would need to start using Rovman Powell at 5 irrespective of the position the target they chase or they set.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Despite their big show Andre Russell’s exploits in the last over of Titan’s innings clinching 4 wickets and Rinku Singh’s extraordinary fielding and batting, the Knights from Kolkata could not cross the finish line and choked themselves to an 8 run defeat. Andre Russell was due course to a match winning score before Lockie Ferguson reverse cusped the dangerman at deep square leg and clinched the result for the Titans. The Knights are placed at 8th position and would like to go back to their drawing board and chalk out a plan which would make them come back to the circuit with a bang. One thing which is noteworthy is that they gave an immense comeback in the 2021 IPL in the second half where Venkatesh Iyer ripped out the opponents leading to this retention this year. So, the second half belongs to them? Let’s wait and watch!!
Probable Playing XI:
Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Sarfraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (C & WK), Rovman Powell, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Khaleel Ahmed.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Sam Billings (WK) / Aaron Finch, Shreyas Iyer (C), Nitish Rana / Sheldon Jackson, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy.
Pitch / Weather Report:
The first four games at the Wankhede Stadium were won by teams chasing. But that has been turned upside down since, with the last five games all being won by teams defending a target. The choice to make at the toss could well prove to be a very difficult one for the captains, particularly for Pant who has now lost two games in succession at the venue after choosing to chase.
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Date & Time: April 28th at 7:30 PM IST and local time
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar
Interesting Facts:
- In the 30 meetings between the two sides in IPL so far, KKR has a 16-13 lead against DC with one fixture ending in No Result. In recent 6 meetings, it's level at 3-3 between the two sides.
- This will be the first meeting between the two at the Wankhede Stadium. In the reverse fixture earlier this season, DC successfully defended 215 after being put into bat by KKR to secure a 44-run win.
- Most Runs vs KKR: David Warner - 976 runs in 25 innings (for DC and SRH)
- David Warner (Delhi Capitals) is 2 maximums away from 400 sixes in T20 cricket (overall). The opener is also 24 runs away from scoring 1000 runs against KKR in IPL.
- Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals) is 2 wickets away from 100 wickets in IPL. The left-arm spinner is also 1 wicket away claiming his 150th wicket in T20 cricket (overall).
- Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) is 1 wicket away from joining the 150 club in IPL and 19 runs away from completing 1000 runs in the cash rich league. The West Indies all-rounder will also be making his 400th appearance in T20 cricket (overall).
- Nitish Rana (Kolkata Knight Riders) is 37 runs away from completing 2000 runs in IPL. The left-hander is also 2 maximums away from 100 sixes in IPL.
- Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders) is 73 runs away from completing 2000 runs in IPL.
- Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders) is set for 50th match as captain in IPL and is also 5 maximums away from 100 sixes in IPL.
- Mustafizur Rahman (Delhi Capitals) is 4 wickets away from 250 wickets in T20 cricket (overall).
- Rishabh Pant (Delhi Capitals) is 102 runs away from completing 4000 runs in T20 cricket (overall).
Dream 11 Team:
