Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders Preview: Faltering batsmen under focus

Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders are coming off contrasting results as they meet in this match #25 of the Indian Premier League 2021 campaign. This match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Delhi have won four of their six matches and are in the top-three standings, but have lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by one-run in the last match. Kolkata Knight Riders stopped their four-match losing run with a five-wicket win over Punjab Kings but have only four points so far.

Delhi Capitals have started with four wins in their first five matches of the tournament, including the win via Super Over against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Even though they lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore in their latest match, the Capitals are one of the front runners to finish in the top-four.

Shikhar Dhawan (265 runs, SR 140.21) remains a strong contender for the ‘Orange Cap’ and is Delhi’s best batsman around. Likewise, Avesh Khan has been their best bowler in four of the six matches and has 12 wickets at an impressive economy of 7.37.

Steve Smith’s position in the side will come up for discussion after scoring just 80 runs so far at a SR of 112.67.

Kolkata Knight Riders have won only two of their first six matches, but are coming off a five-wicket win over Punjab Kings that halted a four-match losing streak. With no batsmen aggregating more than 200 runs, the need for the top-order to come up good is ‘now or never’ for Kolkata.

Bowling isn’t anything great either, with only Prasidh Krishna’s eight wickets the highest among all. Varun Chakaravarthy with his seven wickets at economy of 7.70 remains their best bet.

The continuous poor run of Shubman Gill remains a massive concern for Kolkata, as is the batting position of Andre Russell.

Kolkata Knight Riders have a 14-12 win-loss record against Delhi Capitals overall but Delhi have won four of the last five.

Last season, Delhi won the first match by 18 runs while Kolkata repaid the favour in the reverse fixture by 59 runs.

Delhi Capitals look a strong and settled unit compared to their opponents despite losing their latest game. Rishabh Pant is yet to hit his aggressive form, which means they still have some highs to be scaled. Kolkata Knight Riders have struggled to be consistent, especially with their batting at the top of the order. It could come down to be a battle of top-order runs.

Both teams have been reliant on a few individual performances making this an interesting clash of personalities. Shikhar Dhawan has been leading the charge for Delhi Capitals and has ended as their best batsman in three of the six matches. Together with Prithvi Shaw, he was able to give strong starts to the Capitals this season. That makes Delhi Capitals strong favourites to score more in the powerplay. Kolkata Knight Riders are still the team to beat, though, in terms of sixes and can be a safe pick to end as highest six hitters. With Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw the top-two in the four-hitters this season, the Capitals are a safe choice to be backed in the team to hit most boundaries segment.