VISAKHAPATNAM: Buoyed by their first victory of the season, a 20-run win over Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, Delhi Capitals look to build on the momentum when they host Kolkata Knight Riders at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Capitals took a lot of positives from their previous outing the crucial one being the return of
Rishabh Pant
to his best. The southpaw, after initial struggles, scored a 32-ball 51.
His return to form augurs well for their fortunes.
Capitals would also be pleased with the way
Prithvi Shaw
, who made the XI after being benched for two games, came good. David Warner (52 off 35b) and Shaw (43 off 27b) provided Capitals a great platform with a 93-run opening stand that helped them post 191/5. But
Mitchell Marsh
is yet to make a significant contribution. Delhi hope he finds form soon.
In the bowling department,
Khaleel Ahmed
returned with a Player of the Match performance with 2/21 in his four overs. His wickets of openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra meant the Super Kings struggled in their chase. Mukesh Kumar too impressed while Axar Patel and Ishant Sharma played the support roles well. South African speedster
Anrich Nortje
still looked a touch rusty but Delhi know they have a gamechanger in the South African.
The Knight Riders are also brimming with confidence after their victories over Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. While they rode on
Andre Russell
’s 25-ball 64-run blitzkrieg and Phil Salt’s 54 to pull off a four-run win over 2016 champions Sunrisers, their top-order, consisting of
Sunil Narine
(47), Venkatesh Iyer (50) and captain Shreyas Iyer (39*) — all found their touch against RCB. The way they chased down the target of 183 with consummate ease — in 16.5 overs with seven wickets in hand — gave a glimpse of their batting power.
With the likes of Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Russell and Narine in the bowling department, Knight Riders look a good all round unit.
In head-to-head record, both teams are evenly matched with Knight Riders winning 16 times to Capitals’ 15 in 32 matches. An exciting clash is on the cards in the Port City.
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