What

Match 18 of VIVO IPL 2017 will see the Delhi Daredevils clash with the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Both teams posted convincing wins in their respective previous fixtures; on Saturday afternoon, the Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs, while later in the evening the Delhi Daredevils defeated Kings XI Punjab by a whopping 51 runs.

On paper, KKR is definitely the stronger team of the two; the nucleus of the team has remained the same over the years, and the players have a clear understanding of their roles within the team. In normal circumstances, KKR will hold the edge, but if the pitch for this match plays slow - like it did on Saturday evening, the gap between the two teams will become closer. Both teams have very good bowling attacks – particularly in the spin bowling department, and if the track provides them any bit of assistance, we could be in for a cracker of a contest.

When

17 April 2017, 1600 Hrs IST

Where

Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi

The Protagonists

There is plenty of firepower in the DD middle-order: young Rishabh Pant, Corey Anderson and Chris Morris are capable of changing the course of a match in a matter of minutes. It is therefore important that the middle order gets a platform from which to fire. In an interview a few days ago, Sam Billings said he was happy that he got starts in each of the matches, but hoped to convert it to a substantial score sooner rather than later. He did that on Saturday, as he scored 55 and gave his team a solid start. The Englishman will look to make the most of his form and hope to keep accumulating runs at the top.

In their four matches this season, the Knight Riders have had four different players top-scoring for them. With Chris Lynn side-lined with the shoulder injury, it is now up to the remaining three players to step up and take a little more responsibility. KKR’s strategy over the years has been simple; one batsman bats well into the latter half of the innings. Whose turn will it be on Monday?

On the bowling front, while Amit Mishra and Sunil Narine, and Kuldeep Yadav and possibly Shakib-al-Hasan - who should come into the mix if the conditions are in favour of the spinners –will hold the key.

Match within the match

The contest between the two old pros – Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan – is one to watch out for. Both players have played a lot of cricket with and against each other and will know a lot about each other’s games. Gambhir has scored plenty of runs against Zaheer in the IPL, but has also been dismissed by the left-arm quick on five occasions. Zaheer Khan has this happy knack of dismissing left-handers; will he be able to pull the lid on his former India teammate on this occasion?

Head to Head

Overall: Matches played – 17, DD Won – 7, KKR Won - 10

At the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground: Matches played – 6, DD Won – 2, KKR Won – 4

Trivia

Sunil Narine has a poor economy rate in IPL matches at the Kotla; from 5 matches at the venue, he has an economy rate of 8.21.

What Next

For Delhi Daredevils: Away fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad, April 19
For Kolkata Knight Riders: Home fixture against Gujarat Lions, April 21