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5:05PM IST: Just In: India announces its final 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup. READ
MATCH PREVIEW
Kolkata Knight Riders takes the field against Delhi Capitals in the IPL Qualifier 2 in Sharjah on Wednesday buoyed by winning momentum.
Confidence in the KKR camp will be sky-high, after the side pulled off an impressive four-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator on Monday.
In West Indian Sunil Narine, who shone with bat and ball against RCB, KKR possesses a true match-winner.
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In this episode of Matchpoint Paradox, our correspondents Shayan Acharya, Ayan Acharya and Vijay Lokapally look back at the cricketing action from the week gone by – from India’s tour Down Under to KKR’s resurgence in IPL2021.
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KKR captain Eoin Morgan, who stated that Narine is “consistently exceptional every time he takes the field”, will be doubly pleased to have Varun Chakravarthy as the second spinner. The duo is a handful in the middle overs, choking the opposition batsmen with tight lines.
The batting is in safe hands as well, with the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill in good form. The unit has peaked at the right time after a stuttering start to its campaign.
The team is yet to take a call on the availability of all-rounder Andre Russell, who suffered an injury earlier in the tournament. “Andre has a Grade 2 hamstring tear. He has worked incredibly hard along with our medical team with intensive rehabilitation to try and get himself back in the park. We’ll take a decision on whether he is fit to play,” Morgan stated on Monday.
Our bowlers have shown us the way, says KKR skipper Morgan
Not in Windies T20 World Cup squad, Narine shines in IPL
Eyeing maiden title
While KKR is on a three-match winning streak, DC has lost its last two outings. The Qualifier 1 outing on Sunday, against Chennai Super Kings, did not end well for DC. England pacer Tom Curran, given the ball in the final over, succumbed to a marauding MS Dhoni. That DC captain Rishabh Pant trusted Curran over experienced speedster Kagiso Rabada shows that the side has yet to define clear roles for players.
A few days earlier, DC suffered a last-ball defeat to RCB in the league stage. The team management could consider replacing Curran with Marcus Stoinis in the playing eleven.
DC, which topped the league stage, will pull out all the stops to stay in the hunt for a maiden IPL title.
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Head to Head: KKR vs DC Wins: KKR – 15, DC – 13 HS (KKR) v DC – 210 LS (KKR) v DC – 97 HS (DC) v KKR – 228 LS (DC) v KKR – 98 Head to Head in IPL 2021 DC vs KKR, April 29: KKR 154/6 in 20 overs lost to DC 156/3 in 16.4 overs by seven wickets KKR vs DC, September 28: DC 127/9 in 20 overs lost to KKR 130/7 in 18.2 overs by three wickets |
Predicted 11
Delhi Capitals XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, Tom Curran/Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje
Kolkata Knight Riders XI: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan(c), Shakib Al Hasan, Dinesh Karthik(w), Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy
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DC vs KKR Dream 11 FANTASY TEAM Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik Batters: Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Prithvi Shaw (vc) All-rounders: Sunil Narine (c), Axar Patel Bowlers: Lockie Ferguson, Anrich Nortje (vc), Varun Chakravarthy DC 5/7 | KKR 6/7 | Credits left: 0. |
WHERE TO WATCH IPL 2021 – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals Live?
IPL 2021 will be aired Live on Star Sports channels – Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports 3 HD. It will be streamed live on Hotstar.
Squads
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Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine, Dinesh Karthik(w), Eoin Morgan(c), Shakib Al Hasan, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Andre Russell , Ben Cutting, Karun Nair, Pawan Negi, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sheldon Jackson, Sandeep Warrier, Tim Seifert, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Vaibhav Arora Delhi Capitals Squad: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Axar Patel, Shimron Hetmyer, Tom Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Steven Smith, Sam Billings, Marcus Stoinis, Lukman Meriwala, Ben Dwarshuis, Praveen Dubey, Vishnu Vinod, Kulwant Khejroliya, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel |
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