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Match Details
Date: 13 October 2021
Time: 7:30 PM (IST)
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Live Ball-by-Ball Commentary: SportsTiger App
Preview:
Kolkata will aim to continue their 3-match winning streak when they take on Delhi in the Qualifier 2 of Indian T20 League 2021 on Wednesday evenings. The two sides will lock horns in a blockbuster clash at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. League stage toppers Delhi will need to bring their A-game to the fore if they want to emerge victorious against an in-form Kolkata side, who come into this contest after eliminating Virat Kohli's Bangalore.
The two teams had recently met on 28th September and on that day, it was the Eoin Morgan-led side that emerged victorious in a hard-fought contest by 3 wickets. Delhi had scored 127/9, thanks to superb batting from Pant (39) and Steven Smith (39). But blistering cameos from Nitish Rana and in-form Sunil Narine helped Kolkata win the game with 10 balls to spare.
Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting was seen motivating his players after their narrow defeat against CSK in qualifier 1. Ponting mentioned that Delhi players are the best group of players in the competition and they will book their place in the final if they maintain the level of performance that they have shown throughout this season.
Team News
Delhi:
According to reports, Aussie all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is likely to be available for this match, having recovered from his hamstring injury.
Kolkata:
KKR skipper Eoin Morgan revealed that star all-rounder Andre Russell has Grade 2 hamstring tear, which is the reason he has not been able to take the field in the teams' recent matches. Morgan added that the Caribbean star is working hard to regain fitness ahead of Qualifiers 2 against Delhi Capitals. "He (Russell) has worked incredibly hard along with our medical team with intensive rehabilitation," Morgan said.
Head to Head (in Indian T20 League)
Matches Played – 28
Kolkata – 15
Delhi – 12
Key Players
Sunil Narine:
The Windies all-rounder has been performing excellently for KKR in the cash-rich league this season. He’ll certainly be the one to keep an eye on because he can deliver sensational performances with both bat and ball. In Kolkata's last clash against Bangalore, he smashed 26 runs from 15 balls and was also the most successful bowler of the game as he scalped 4 crucial wickets.
Shikhar Dhawan:
The southpaw has looked in good touch in the second half but he has not been able to play long innings. The veteran Indian opener has played numerable match-winning knocks for Delhi on numerous occasions in the Indian T20 League and he will be eager to inspire his team to victory here. Dhawan will also have his eyes on the Orange Cap as he is only 75 runs behind compatriot KL Rahul in the top-scorers list.
Venkatesh Iyer:
The 26-year-old Madhya Pradesh player has lit up the Indian T20 League with his stylish batting. He has been in brilliant touch and his batting displays at the start of the second leg also changed KKR’s fortunes as the team registered back-to-back wins against Bangalore and Mumbai. The spotlight will again be on the 6-foot 4-inch-tall opener when he takes on the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Avesh Khan.
Probable Playing XI
Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis/ Tom Curran/ Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan
Kolkata: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shakib Al Hasan/ Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna