Kolkata: A rampaging Kolkata Knight Riders stand in the way of Delhi Daredevils’ revival plan as the two teams, with contrasting runs so far, gear up to clash in an Indian Premier League (IPL) fixture on Friday. There has been no stopping KKR, be it at home or away, in the 10th season of the cash-rich league. KKR have 12 points from eight matches at a commanding net run rate of +1.153 while Mumbai Indians, the other form team, have +0.514.
Time is running out fast for DD, who are languishing at seventh in the eight-team standings with four points from six matches. Gautam Gambhir’s men have been living out of a suitcase but far from being affected, they have been ruthless on the field and would look to consolidate their position atop the standings and inch closer to playoff. After bundling out Royal Challengers Bangalore for a tournament-record low 49, KKR thrashed Rising Pune Supergiant away by seven wickets last night.
Having suffered a hat-trick of losses, Daredevils, on the other hand, will be playing their first match in six days and the captain-mentor duo of Zaheer Khan and Rahul Dravid would hope that they return rejuvenated against an in-form team enjoying a 7-11 win-loss record. Delhi have a top-class pace bowling attack in Pat Cummins, Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada, who made an impressive debut in their last match in Mumbai, which they lost by 14 runs. With Zaheer lending his vast experience and home lad Mohammad Shami’s familiarity with the conditions, Daredevils’ pace battery would relish the transformed Eden Gardens wicket.
