 "KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer and DC captain Rishabh Pant at the toss in Vizag on Wednesday. Image: X / @IPL")
Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders preview: Delhi Capitals (DC) finally got on the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 points table with their 20-run win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and next up, they face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a “home” match in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
KKR maintained their perfect start to the tournament following a seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and will look to join Rajasthan Royals (RR) with three wins in as many games.
However, what concerns the two-time champions is the form of Australia pacer Mitchell Starc, who was acquired for a whopping Rs 24.75 crore at the auction. In the two matches, Starwc has endured combined figures of 0/100 but KKR bowling coach Bharat Arun believes Starc will regain his form soon.
“We have been talking about his strengths. I’m sure he understands what it is and what it takes to succeed. The kind of experience he brings with him having played in all the conditions, it is just a matter of time before you see Starc return in his elements,” Bharat said ahead of the match against DC.
Starc can take inspiration from his five-wicket haul against India in an ODI in Vizag last year, the last time he played at the venue.
Venkatesh Iyer, who scored a fifty against RCB, had pulled his back in the aftermath of the game but Bharat Arun said that Iyer was ready to play again. Once again, all eyes will be on the top three of Sunil Narine, Phil Salt and Venkatesh Iyer.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAs far as DC are concerned, Jhye Richardson is available but it remains to be seen if the Australian is part of the playing XI, given that Ishant Sharma is now back. Meanwhile, uncertainty remains over Shai Hope, who missed DC’s last two games due to back spasm.
Squads:
Delhi Capitals: Abhishek Porel, Anrich Nortje, Axar Patel, David Warner, Ishant Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Lalit Yadav, Lungisani Ngidi, Mitchell Marsh, Mukesh Kumar, Pravin Dubey, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant (C), Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Vicky Ostwal, Yash Dhull, Harry Brook, Tristan Stubbs, Ricky Bhui, Kumar Kushagra, Rasikh Dar Salam, Jhye Richardson, Sumit Kumar, Shai Hope, Swastik Chikara
Kolkata Knight Riders: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer (C), Jason Roy, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Rahman, Gus Atkinson