· Tom
IPL 2018 – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils Preview
AT A GLANCE
When? Monday 16th April, 15:30 (UK)
Where? Eden Gardens
Weather? 31-33c expected with cloud and humidity of 54%
What channel is it on? Sky Sports Cricket
Where can I stream the match? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go
Are tickets still available? https://in.bookmyshow.com/sports/cricket/t20-premier-league
THE STATISTICS
THE LOWDOWN
HEAD-TO-HEAD
All-time meetings: Kolkata Knight Riders W12, Delhi Daredevils W7
THE TEAM NEWS
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Coach: Jacques Kallis
Captain: Dinesh Karthik
- Kolkata have dropped to fifth place with just one win from their opening three matches following a lacklustre performance against the undefeated Sunrisers Hyderabad as they could only manage a total of 138/8 which was chased down with relative ease.
- Chris Lynn has his first decent outing of the tournament scoring a quick-fire 49 from 34 balls but unfortunately neither he nor his team mates could get going thanks to some impressive bowling from the Sunrisers. A familiar story is unfolding for KKR, as throughout the tournament so far their middle order has been extremely inconsistent. Only four batsmen have reached at least 30 in three matches with only two of those reaching at least 50 (Narine/Russell). These numbers are not good enough for a team expected to go deep in the tournament.
- Unfortunately for KKR the loss of Mitch Starc has left them short on bowlers so their current group will need to improve quickly. Tom Curran was left out after an expensive first game, however he has shown he can be effective at international level and is a proven wicket-taker which would definitely assist KKR so there is a chance that the Englishman could return here.
DELHI DAREDEVILS
Coach: Ricky Ponting
Captain: Gautam Gambhir
- It looked unlikely for spells of the game but Ricky Ponting’s men came away with a huge victory in the context of their season. Mumbai looked like batting the Daredevils out of the match however some quick wickets saw the home team restricted to 7-194. Although this is one of the larger totals set for the tournament, Mumbai were at one stage 1-109 from just 9 overs.
- The firepower of the Delhi Daredevils has been spoken about and they certainly delivered and whilst Jason Roy was the obvious hero with a stunning 91 not out, Rishabh Pant was also extremely impressive scoring 47 from 25 balls. In addition, three out of the five batsmen for Delhi went at a strike rate of over 170.
- The Delhi bowlers were attacked early by Mumbai so the pleasing aspect for Ricky Ponting was the response. Mumbai were travelling well at 2/166 after 15 overs before veteran Dan Christian claimed the wickets of Kishan and Pollard in consecutive deliveries. This spell was the start of a great death bowling performance with only 23 runs coming from the last four overs and that win will likely see them go unchanged for this match.
THE PREDICTION
Both of these teams have been patchy throughout the first three matches of the tournament and with only net run rate separating KKR and the Daredevils, this will be a crucial match for both teams. Inconsistent batting has plagued KKR for their first three matches whilst the same could be said for Delhi, though the rain affected match against Rajasthan allows for a bit of leeway in terms of too much judgement. What we do know is that Delhi do have a very experienced bowling line-up and have proven consistent fire power in the bating department, and for these reasons we are edging the Daredevils to make it two wins in a row.
