IPL 2023: Winless DC set to host the Knight Riders
Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns in the 28th match of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. The Capitals are yet to win their first match of the season. They have suffered five consecutive defeats as of now. Meanwhile, KKR are coming off two successive defeats to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians, respectively.
Pitch report, timing, and streaming details
Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium will host the match. The pitch here is generally good for batting, but the slow nature will aid the spinners as the match progresses. 8.17 is the average run-rate for teams batting first here in T20 cricket. Star Sports Network will telecast the match, while fans can also live-stream it on JioCinema from 7:30pm onward.
A look at the head-to-head record
Both teams have played each other a total of 30 times, and it has mostly been very close encounters. KKR have the upper hand with 16 victories, but DC isn't far away with 13 wins (one Super Over). In the last meeting, DC prevailed over KKR by four wickets. Delhi chased down the 147-run target with ease. Kuldeep Yadav took four wickets for them.
DC's batters need to fire
DC's batting attack is yet to fire in the tournament. Although skipper David Warner has been among the runs, his strike rate remains questionable. In Kuldeep, Anrich Nortje, Axar Patel, and Mustafizur Rahman, DC have a star-studded bowling attack. On the other hand, KKR's batting has the required meat. Meanwhile, the bowlers need to produce regular breakthroughs.
A look at the Probable XIs
DC Probable XI: David Warner (captain), Mitchell Marsh, Yash Dhull, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Aman Hakim Khan, Lalit Yadav, Abishek Porel (wicket-keeper), Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, and Mustafizur Rahman. KKR Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, N Jagadeesan, Nitish Rana (captain), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Who are the key performers?
Warner has racked up 228 runs from five matches at an average of 45.60 in IPL 2023. However, his strike rate has been under the scanner (116.92). KKR's Venkatesh is the only Indian centurion in the season so far. He owns the second-most runs (234 at a strike rate of 170.80). Mystery spinner Chakravarthy has taken seven wickets at an average of 21.00.
Dream11 Fantasy cricket options
Dream 11 (Option 1): Rahmanullah Gurbaz, David Warner, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer (captain), Axar Patel (vice-captain), Andre Russell, Mitchell Marsh, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mustafizur Rahman. Dream 11 (Option 2): Rahmanullah Gurbaz, David Warner (captain), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Anrich Nortje, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy.
