IPL 10, Match 32, KKR v DD – Delhi Daredevils Predicted XI

After a refreshing break of 5 days, Delhi Daredevils will now travel to Kolkata to face the table-toppers KKR on Friday. It will be a day game and the wicket is expected to be dry and offer assistance to the spinners. Daredevils were ranked 5th in the points table when they played Mumbai in their last game on Saturday.

They have now slipped to the 7th spot as the other teams have won points in the meanwhile. The Zaheer-led team has just 2 wins out of 6 games, losing the last three games on the bounce. They need to quickly turn their fortunes around if they want to finish in the top 4.

KKR are playing their best cricket this year. They have been clinical, professional and never lacked in intent. They have successfully defended 131 against a star-studded RCB followed by another clinical 7-wicket win against RPS on Wednesday.

Their skipper Gambhir is in no mood to the foot off the accelerator. He wants to win every game in order to finish at the top of the table at the end of the league games.

Daredevils will have to play to the conditions. They will have to make a few changes to their XI which are listed as following:

Openers (Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer)

Young Shreyas Iyer had a breakaway season in 2015 where he scored 439 runs at 33.76 runs an innings. He has done well in the four games he has appeared in so far this year. The difference between 2015 and this year has been the batting position of Iyer.

He was opening the innings two years ago but this time he is slotted to bat at No. 4. Daredevils should look to get him back at the top of the order for that position suits him the best. He can partner Samson, who himself is in good form.

Daredevils have tried 3 opening combinations in 6 games. The openers have registered 2 fifty partnerships but have fallen within the first six overs the rest 4 times. Iyer and Samson can form a decent combination and Daredevils must give them a run.

Middle Order (Karun Nair, Marlon Samuels and Rishabh Pant)

Marlon Samuels joined the Delhi Daredevils squad as the franchise finally announced a replacement for Quinton de Kock. Samuels could be the one to lend stability and solidity to the struggling middle order of Delhi. In the last game against Mumbai, Delhi were reduced to 21/5 within the first six overs until Morris and Rabada resurrected the innings.

Samuels brings experience to the fore and he has won two World T20 finals batting at the No. 3 position for the West Indies. Karun Nair and Rishabh Pant can occupy the other two slots. Nair is running out of time to show his ability and this might well be the last throw of the dice for DD as far as Nair is concerned. Pant, though, has been amongst the runs this season and is expected to bat at 4 or 5, whatever the situation demands.

Pant, though, has been amongst the runs this season and is expected to bat at 4 or 5, whatever the situation demands.

All-rounders (Angelo Mathews and Chris Morris)

Mathews wasn’t available for selection in the last game but looks set to play this game against KKR. The reason behind his selection could be his bowling and hitting abilities at the end of the innings.

He bowls a lot of cutters which could be handy on the dry Eden Gardens wicket. His international experience will come into play during the business end of the tournament.

Morris has been in exceptional form with both bat and ball. His rearguard innings of 52* was not enough to take his side home as they fell short by 14 runs against MI. With 12 wickets from 6 games and a batting average of 42, Morris has been the best all-rounder on display in this IPL. He can be pushed to bat at 6 if the need be.

Bowlers (Kagiso Rabada, Shahbaz Nadeem, Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra)

Rabada contributed 44 runs in the last game and bowled with pace. Pat Cummins has had a good season with the ball but could miss out this game as DD will look to play two spinners. It will be a tough one between Cummins and Rabada but the latter is expected to get a nod ahead.

With a bowling average of 12.25 and economy of 4.90 this year, it is a pity that Shahbaz Nadeem could only feature in 3 games thus far. He had an exceptional first-class season where he picked more than 50 wickets and is expected to play this game at the Eden Gardens.

Amit Mishra will partner him in the middle overs. Zaheer will be the third seamer for the Daredevils. He can unleash his cutters too in the middle overs which will be very effective in Kolkata.