IPL 2022 | DC vs KKR | Match 41 Preview, Predictions, Probable XI, CREX XI

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be looking to break their four-match losing streak when they take on Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 41st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at Wankhede Stadium, on Thursday.

The Capitals will be heading into this game on the back of a 15-run defeat against Rajasthan Royals (RR), which saw a colossal no-ball controversy erupt recently. 

Lack of consistency from their key players has seen DC losing four of their seven games in the ongoing edition of the tournament. The absence of Anrich Nortje has been one of the major reasons why the DC have struggled with the ball so far. 

Amidst all the chaos, Delhi will be delighted and boosted by the return of Mitchell Marsh and Tim Seifert, who had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier. With six points and a decent NRR of +0.715, Delhi Capitals are currently at the seventh position in the points table and must be looking to climb up in the standings, as the competition is heating up with each passing game. 

The Shreyas Iyer-led KKR side, on the other hand, suffered its fourth consecutive defeat when Gujarat Titans (GT) outplayed them by eight runs in a day game in their most recent fixture.

They are yet to find their best playing XI as their top order has failed to provide a good start to their team. Also, their bowlers have looked inconsistent on many occasions as well. The last year's runners-up need to win all their remaining six games to make it to the playoffs, or it will be curtains for them. 

Both these teams are playing the reverse fixture in the ongoing season as the last time they crossed swords, DC defeated the Knights by a huge 44-run margin, and Shreyas wouldn't mind a sweet revenge from his ex-team. 

Match Details

Match: Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 41

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Date & Time: 28th April at 7:30 PM IST & Local Time

Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar 

Pitch Report

The surface at Wankhede Stadium has turned out to be entirely different from what it looked like in the first few games. While the chasing side won the first four games, the team batting first dominated the last five. As a result, the average first innings score has risen to around 180, and we can expect the same trend on Thursday. However, it will be interesting to see what the toss-winning captain would opt for, given the last few games have favoured the team defending the totals.

Pitch Stats [Last 5 Matches]

• Matches Played: 5
• Matches Won Batting First: 5
• Matches Won Bowling First: 0
• Average 1st Inning Score: 186
• Average 2nd Inning Score: 170

Key Matchups

• Aaron Finch vs Kuldeep: 25/4 at 100 SR
• Warner vs Umesh: 84/4 at 152 SR
• Russell vs Shardul: 53/3 at 284 SR
• Rishabh vs Varun: 24/1 at 120 SR
• Rishabh vs Russell: 39/3 at 195 SR

DC vs KKR Head-To-Head

Matches Played: 31

KKR Won: 16

DC Won: 14

Injury Update/Players' Availability

Delhi Capitals: Mitchell Marsh and Tim Seifert have tested negative and joined the DC camp. However, their availability for this match is yet to be confirmed by the franchise. 

Kolkata Knight Riders: They are expected to go with an unchanged playing eleven. 

Squads 

Delhi Capitals 

Rishabh Pant (C & WK), Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Khaleel Ahmed, Mandeep Singh, Srikar Bharat, Lungi Ngidi, Ashwin Hebbar, Praveen Dubey, Anrich Nortje, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Chetan Sakariya, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Vicky Ostwal.

Kolkata Knight Riders 

Shreyas Iyer (C), Sheldon Jackson (WK), Aaron Finch, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Tim Southee, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Nabi, Sam Billings, Chamika Karunaratne, Baba Indrajith, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Pratham Singh, Abhijeet Tomar, Aman Hakim Khan, Ashok Sharma, Ramesh Kumar, Harshit Rana. 

Probable Playing XI 

Delhi Capitals

Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (C & WK), Rovman Powell, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Khaleel Ahmed.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Venkatesh Iyer, Aaron Finch, Shreyas Iyer (C), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh/Sheldon Jackson, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy.

CREX XI Suggestion

Wicket-Keeper: Rishabh Pant

Batters: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer

All-Rounders: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell

Bowlers: Mustafizur Rahman, Shardul Thakur, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav

Captain: Andre Russell

Vice-Captain: David Warner