Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders
Match 17 of Pepsi IPL 2015 will feature the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders pitted against the Delhi Daredevils.
The smiles are back in the Delhi Daredevils camp with back-to-back wins – first over Kings XI Punjab and then over Sunrisers Hyderabad – a feat they’ve achieved for the first time since May 2013. After losing 11 matches in a row, those two wins must have certainly reduced the pressure and the players must be all charged up and looking forward to stitching together a string of wins. It is said one win can change it all. In DD’s case the players will surely start believing in their abilities more and looking forward to competing now more than ever in recent times.
On the batting front, DD have found new performers with the bat in each of their four matches. But it is the two left-handers in the middle-order – skipper JP Duminy and Yuvraj Singh - who can cause most damage in little time. Duminy – the team’s top run-getter this season - has scored runs in the last three innings and will be looking to carry his form through the rest of the season. The two leg-spinners Imran Tahir and Amit Mishra will be at the forefront of DD’s bowling plans.
In their previous match against Kings XI Punjab, KKR showed why they are the defending champions. Despite being reduced to 60 for 5 in a chase of 156, the side found a new saviour in Andre Russell who blitzed his way and helped the team to a resounding victory. A lot of sport is played in the mind; it is believed that confidence can work wonders, and that victory – clinched from the jaws of defeat – will certainly boost the confidence further in the KKR camp.
KKR play best when the opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa set up the match by batting the bulk of the innings. On the bowling front, KKR’s comfort factor is when their spinners find conditions where they can spin a web around the batsmen. Narine hasn’t been the same bowler he once was since returning to the field this season; the Trinidadian has so far picked up one wicket from three matches and KKR expect a lot more from him.
The smiles are back in the Delhi Daredevils camp with back-to-back wins – first over Kings XI Punjab and then over Sunrisers Hyderabad – a feat they’ve achieved for the first time since May 2013. After losing 11 matches in a row, those two wins must have certainly reduced the pressure and the players must be all charged up and looking forward to stitching together a string of wins. It is said one win can change it all. In DD’s case the players will surely start believing in their abilities more and looking forward to competing now more than ever in recent times.
On the batting front, DD have found new performers with the bat in each of their four matches. But it is the two left-handers in the middle-order – skipper JP Duminy and Yuvraj Singh - who can cause most damage in little time. Duminy – the team’s top run-getter this season - has scored runs in the last three innings and will be looking to carry his form through the rest of the season. The two leg-spinners Imran Tahir and Amit Mishra will be at the forefront of DD’s bowling plans.
In their previous match against Kings XI Punjab, KKR showed why they are the defending champions. Despite being reduced to 60 for 5 in a chase of 156, the side found a new saviour in Andre Russell who blitzed his way and helped the team to a resounding victory. A lot of sport is played in the mind; it is believed that confidence can work wonders, and that victory – clinched from the jaws of defeat – will certainly boost the confidence further in the KKR camp.
KKR play best when the opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa set up the match by batting the bulk of the innings. On the bowling front, KKR’s comfort factor is when their spinners find conditions where they can spin a web around the batsmen. Narine hasn’t been the same bowler he once was since returning to the field this season; the Trinidadian has so far picked up one wicket from three matches and KKR expect a lot more from him.