IPL Match 42: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals Prediction and Preview

With their shock loss against Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Capitals suddenly find themselves, at the time of writing, level on points with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Their qualification is all but secure, but if they aren’t too careful in the future, they might find themselves pushed down to third place - something that would be heartbreaking for a usually underperforming team that has performed so well this year. Next up, they face Kolkata Knight Riders, who themselves suffered one of the worst defeats in the history of IPL. They need to pick up the pieces of what’s left of their dignity after their last match, and keep their chin up and look forward to qualification. Losing this one would mean any of 3 teams overtaking them. Before this crucial match starts, let’s take a look at the two teams.

Kolkata Knight Riders Preview & Form

Aided by Sunrisers Hyderabad’s victory against Rajasthan Royals, KKR still maintain their fourth-place spot. However, a defeat now would almost certainly mean moving down a rung or two. In their last match, their batting looked utterly miserable as they made 84 - the lowest total in IPL history without a team being bowled out. Mohammad Siraj shone for RCB as he picked up 3 wickets and bowled two maidens, costing only 8 runs from his 4 overs. In reply, despite losing a couple of wickets, RCB all but cruised to victory off just 13.3 overs. Obviously, the Knight Riders badly need to fix whatever went so horribly wrong with their batting.

Delhi Capitals Preview & Form

Despite having had a clear lead on the league table with dominating performances throughout, DC somehow managed to lose to a seemingly down-and-out KXIP. In their last match, even Shikhar Dhawan’s second century in as many matches, Delhi Capitals only settled for 164 as no other batsmen could score more than 14. In return, the Punjabis looked weak early on, but strong hitting from Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran made sure that despite Kagiso Rabada’s best efforts, KXIP toppled their target with an over and 5 wickets to spare. DC now need to shake off this defeat and focus on the upcoming games to avoid the aforementioned slip.

KKR vs DC Match Prediction

After winning only 1 out of their last 4, KKR needs to come out swinging to tackle the steadily closing competition. Expect Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Shivam Mavi, and Varun Chakravarthy to play their parts well. 

On paper, DC should have this, but on the field they need to be resolute and careful to close it. Expect Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer to score high, while Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje continue their terrific form.

Can the Knight Riders take the Capitals down to keep themselves in the top 4? Or will the big guns of Delhi fire Kolkata out of their top half? Find out on Saturday!