Sharjah, Oct 12: Eyeing a maiden IPL title, the fancied Delhi Capitals will face another litmus test in the form of a Kolkata Knight Riders unit brimming with optimism when the two sides lock horns in the second qualifier here on Wednesday.
Delhi Capitals failed in their first big test when they lost to Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier and another defeat will mean there will be no more examination for the strong squad, led by India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
Two-time winners KKR will no doubt take confidence from their victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Monday’s eliminator that dashed Virat Kohli’s hopes of winning an IPL title with his longstanding franchise.
DC, who topped the league stage with as many as 10 wins for a total of 20 points, are well aware of the task that awaits them. This year, their aim is to do one better and win the title. They are one of the most balanced sides in the tournament with a formidable batting line-up and a potent pace attack aided by seasoned spinners including Ravichandran Ashwin.
In Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer, Delhi boast of a solid top order. Pant, along with Shimron Hetmyer, look after the middle order. Dhawan (618) was the second highest run-scorer in 2020 and has already raked up 551 this season.
On the bowling front, the South African pace duo of Kagiso Rabada (2020 purple cap winner) and Anrich Nortje has proved to a dream pair, having scalped 52 wickets together in 2020.
Then there is speedster Avesh Khan, who has taken 23 wickets so far in this season of the tournament. DC have posted five wins in the UAE leg of the tournament but one of their defeats here has come against KKR.
Eoin Morgan’s side enjoy a massive reversal of fortunes in the Gulf after enduring a disastrous first half in India earlier this year. They just about managed to sneak into the playoffs at the expense of five-time defending champions Mumbai Indians.
Things changed for the better after the Kolkata-based side landed in the UAE and if their performance against RCB is any indication, KKR will want the final.
On a pitch offering turn, KKR’s spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy (16 wickets) and Sunil Narine, who is on a high after his superb all-round performance against RCB, will look to test the formidable DC batting lineup.
Batting hasn’t been KKR’s biggest strength this season though. Up against a potent bowling attack, the likes of Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi (393 runs) and Morgan will need to rise to the occasion if KKR is to make the final.
Delhi Capitals:
Rishabh Pant (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimrom Hetmyar, Shreyas Iyer, Steve Smith, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan, Ben Dwarshuis, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Kulwant Khejroliya, Lukman Meriwala, Pravin Dubey, Tom Curran, Umesh Yadav, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sam Billings and Vishnu Vinod.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Eoin Morgan (Captain), Dinesh Karthik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathy, Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pawan Negi, M Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Dube, Tim Southee, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russel, Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert. (PTI)
