IPL 2021, Qualifier 2: Here is the match preview
Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns in the Qualifier 2 of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host the impending encounter. DC will get another opportunity to reach the final after they lost to Chennai Super Kings in the first Qualifier. Meanwhile, KKR defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator. Here is the match preview.
Head-to-head: KKR 15-12 DC
Kolkata fare slightly better than Delhi as far as the IPL head-to-head record is concerned. In 27 games, KKR have managed to win 15 with a win percentage of 55.56. On the other hand, Delhi have earned 12 victories against KKR with a win percentage of 44.44. Both sides have beaten each other once in the ongoing season.
Pitch report and TV listing
The Qualifier 2 will be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. It will begin at 7:30 PM IST. KKR won the low-scoring encounter against RCB (Eliminator) on this venue. Unlike the last season, the wicket here gets slow as the match progresses. One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream the same on the Hotstar app (paid subscription).
DC likely to continue with Tom Curran
DC drafted Tom Curran in place of Ripal Patel in the Qualifier 1. The English all-rounder scalped three wickets but couldn't deny MS Dhoni the winning runs. He is likely to play against KKR if Marcus Stoinis remains unfit. Probable XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant (captain, wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje
Will Russell play the Qualifier 2?
KKR didn't alter the Playing XI in the Eliminator. The inclusion of Lockie Ferguson and Shakib Al Hasan has worked in their favor. However, the Knight Riders still the miss the services of the injured Andre Russell. Probable XI: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Shakib, Sunil Narine, Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy
Here are the top performers
Karthik has amassed 465 runs from 20 games at a strike rate of 137.98 against DC. In the bowling segment, Narine has 19 wickets with the best bowling performance of 4/13. Against KKR, Dhawan has aggregated 758 runs at a strike rate of 118.99, while Ashwin has picked up 21 wickets with the best match haul of 3/16.
