At this point of time, the Kolkata Knight Riders are in a dream shape, as all the aspects associated with their team are glowing and glowing rather brightly.
No one would have expected them to annihilate the Sunrisers Hyderabad with such ease like they eventually did at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
Their bowling performance, where on a good surface they defended the target of 173 without much trouble against a high-quality batting lineup was simply top notch.
From the batting front as well, things look extremely bright and as feared earlier, the absence of Chris Lynn hasn’t adversely affected the team. That being said, the Knight Riders need to get their best possible XI for the game against Daredevils. With the Delhi surface being on the slower side, a comeback for Shakib Al Hasan is on the cards.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTER:
These two rivals met previously at the Feroz Shah Kotla where the Daredevils were all over the visitors. While batting first, Delhi were powered to a healthy 186-8 in 20 overs, thanks to a superb middle order contribution from youngsters Karun Nair and Sam Billings. The latter’s rapid half-century towards the end shifted the momentum in Delhi’s favour.
In the chase, there was barely any effort from the Knight Riders, as Robin Uthappa was the only batsman impressing with a fine knock of 72. For the Daredevils, skipper Zaheer Khan was the pick of the bowlers picking up three wickets for just 21 runs. Eventually, the hosts won by 27 runs to register an easy win.
Recent form this season:
DD: W, L
KKR: W, W, L, W
Talking Points:
Post their win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Man of the Match Robin Uthappa hinted that Sunil Narine would continue as the opener. The Trinidadian did very well against Kings XI Punjab but was dismissed early against the Sunrisers. The role for Narine is simple indeed, as he is expected to provide some fireworks right at the top.
Speaking about form, it was Robin Uthappa who struck rich form with a fluent half-century in Kolkata on Saturday. Despite getting a reprieve early on, Uthappa capitalised with a brilliant counter-attacking knock which was ultimately match-winning. More often than not, when Uthappa fires, the Knight Riders do win.
KKR Predicted XI:
- S. Narine 2. G. Gambhir (c) 3. R. Uthappa (wk) 4. M. Pandey 5. S. Hasan 6. Y. Pathan 7. S. Yadav 8. N. Coulter Nile 9. K. Yadav 10. U. Yadav 11. T. Boult
