Both, Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders have four points and all eyes will be on the big-hitters as both the sides meet in Sharjah.
The match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals marks the kickstart of the double-header weekends in IPL 2020. The second match of the day promises to be yet another exciting match-up as Delhi Capitals take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the high-scoring Sharjah Cricket Ground.
Both the sides have four points from three matches but the Knight Riders have the momentum ahead of the match, as Capitals faced their first defeat of the season earlier this week. The side failed to chase down 163 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, as three of the side's top-4 gave away wickets to frontline spinner Rashid Khan.
KKR, meanwhile, continued on their dominant run after their opening game loss against Mumbai Indians, as the side secured a 37-run win over the Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday. Shubman Gill shined with the bat again but the match marked a remarkable comeback of the side's young guns, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi, who picked up two wickets each.
Both, KKR and DC possess brute power in their arsenal, and with the short boundaries in Sharjah, it can produce yet another classic in this edition of the tournament. Andre Russell gave a glimpse of his power-hitting when he was promoted at number four for the Knight Riders in their previous match against RR, while Rishabh Pant will be itching to throw caution away and play his natural game - tonking the ball away to the seats.
KKR are unlikely to tinker with the winning combination - the presence of Nagarkoti and Mavi becomes more crucial in a stadium like Sharjah, where the bowlers are destined to go for runs. Even as Sunil Narine has struggled as an opener in this season, the KKR management will be eager to give him a go at Sharjah.
There is Tom Banton as a reserve opener but keeping the dimensions of the Sharjah ground into equation, KKR will persist with Narine provided he can attack the weak link in the DC attack which obviously will be an Indian pacer -- be it Mohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma or Avesh Khan.
Delhi Capitals, meanwhile, may receive a boost after bowling coach Ryan Harris confirmed that Ravichandran Ashwin might be available for the match against KKR.
Like Russell, Shimron Hetmyer also showcased a glimpse of his exploits when he scored 21 off 12 deliveries against SRH, which included two successive sixes. The Capitals, however, would want him to be more consistent, and what place better than Sharjah for the Windies batsman to cement a spot in the XI?
The problem, however, remains in bowling options apart from Kagiso Rabada. Most of the Indian pacers in DC have either bowled back of the length or length balls which are cannon fodder on the Sharjah strip, something Harris would like to work on.
Pant, meanwhile, will be aiming to exploit the most of the conditions in Sharjah, which have remained in the favour of the batsmen in the tournament so far. 62 sixes have been hit in merely two games in Sharjah in the current edition - and the likes of Pant, Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis and captain Shreyas Iyer will be aiming to add a lot more.
Squads
Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer (c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shimron Hetmyer, Kagiso Rabada, Ajinkya Rahane, Amit Mishra, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishant Sharma, Axar Patel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Keemo Paul, Daniel Sams, Mohit Sharma, Anrich Nortje, Alex Carey (wk), Avesh Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harshal Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Lalit Yadav.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (Captain & Wicket-keeper), Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarthy, Tom Banton (Wicketkeeper), Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik (Wicketkeeper), Ali Khan.
