An edge of the seat encounter is in the offering as a resurgent Delhi Daredevils take on rampaging champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an IPL 2017 match at the Feroz Shah Kotla here on Monday.
Both the teams will be entering the arena with two back-to-back victories to their credit. Delhi opened their campaign in the 10th edition of the league with a defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) but then staged a dramatic recovery as they pounded Rising Pune Supergiant and Kings XI Punjab in away and home match respectively.
The two–time winners of the league Gautam Gambhir-led KKR, who have won three matches so far, will look to keep winning momentum intact.
However, Delhi are sensing an opportunity to turn the table. This is the best start they had to their campaign in the league in recent times and they will do anything to keep the momentum going.
On paper, man to man, both teams are equally balanced. Delhi has a depth in batting as they showcased it in a match against Punjab on Saturday and they seem to have a variety in bowling department which is proved by the fact that they have not been able to find a place for the South African pacer Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Shami in the playing eleven so far.
Delhi’s International star cast is impressive. It was the quartet of England’s Sam Billings, New Zealander Corey Anderson, South African all rounder Chris Morris and Australian pacer Pat Cummins that dismantled Punjab.
Skipper Zaheer Khan, spinners Amit Mishra and Shahbaz Nadeem make the host’s bowling department more menacing and incisive.
Return of Shreyas Iyer and in-form Sanju Samson add to the strength of batting line-up, which also includes Karun Nair and Rishab Pant.
Though Angelo Mathews has also joined the side it remains to be seen whether Delhi will tinker with its winning combination for the Sri Lankan.
So far Zaheer Khan has led his side well and that has earned him praise from his teammates. “ As a bowler, you have to read the game. Zaheer sets some interesting fields and he's a smart cricketer. It's a nice confidence to have. “ opined Anderson, after the match against Punjab.
On the other hand, KKR’s Gautam Gambhir is leading from the front and his batsmen have lived up to their reputation so far but for one single failure.
Though the visitors will miss injured opener, Chris Lynn, they still have enough firepower in the shape of Gautam Gambir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan. These hitters, on their day, can destroy any bowling attack.
It will be interesting to watch whether Gautam Gambhir will again gamble with Narine as an opener as he did against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Though Narine flopped but the move did create confusion in the rival camp.
Their bowling line-up is also very impressive as it includes Trent Boult, West Indies spinner Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, and Umesh Yadav and the young Delhi batsmen may find it tough to negotiate them