Lagatar24 Desk
Kolkata Knight Riders will face Delhi Capitals in Sharjah on Tuesday. Delhi Capitals have almost confirmed their place in the playoffs with 16 points from 10 matches. On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders are in fourth place with 8 points from 10 matches. They started off their campaign on a positive note, securing 9 wickets and 7 wickets win over Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, respectively in the opening two fixtures. However, they couldn’t continue their winning run against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings and faced 2 wickets defeat on the final ball of a thrilling encounter.
Venkatesh Iyer has proved to be a dark horse for Kolkata in this leg. He has scored 41 not out, 53 and 18 runs in three matches. KKR bowlers are also doing well. However, captain Oen Morgan’s form is a cause for concern. Morgan averages 18.92 and strike rate 123.72 in T20 cricket since IPL 2020. There is not a single half-century in it. In addition to this, Andre Russell got injured while fielding against Chennai. In such a situation, either Ben Cutting or Shakib Al Hasan can be given a chance. Although considering the slow nature of the pitch, Shakib can be preferred.
Interestingly, along with Kolkata, three other teams also have 8-8 points. In this sense, this match is more important for Kolkata as Delhi Capitals have almost booked a spot in the next round and will be looking to finish in the top two positions in the league standings.
