Kolkata Knight Riders have won three matches in a row to revive their playoff hopes. Ajinkya Rahane’s side beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets last time, mainly thanks to the bowlers. They are eighth and want a big win to climb and improve their net run rate.
Batting consistency at the top has been the issue. Rahane and Finn Allen did well in the last game, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi leads the scorers with 268 runs but at a modest strike rate. Rinku Singh and Cameron Green are the main middle-order hitters, with Rovman Powell and Manish Pandey expected to provide late hitting against a Delhi attack that has been struggling.
Sunil Narine has nine wickets at an economy of 6.80 and, with Vaibhav Arora, should handle the powerplay. Kartik Tyagi has bowled well recently and Varun Chakaravarthy is vital in the middle overs, while Green and Anukul Roy are likely to fill the fifth bowling slot. Delhi Capitals, with KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Mitchell Starc and Kuldeep Yadav, need to improve at the death.
