DC look to confirm play-off spot, KXIP aim to extend winning run

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

Pace-setters Delhi Capitals (DC) will look to bounce back from their defeat against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and seal a play-off berth with a victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Saturday.

Delhi are on the top of the table with 14 points and need just one victory to scrape through to the play-offs. They have lost just three of their ten matches.

Delhi’s strength has been their bowling. The South African pace duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje have led them to victories in quite a few matches.

Rabada is the top wicket-taker in the tournament with 21 scalps in 10 matches while Nortje has picked up 12 in nine games.

Delhi lost to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in their last game despite a fluent century by Shikhar Dhawan. However Rabada played down the defeat, ruling it out to be a wake-up call for the table toppers.

“I don’t know if it should be called as a wake-up call, it’s just a loss and losses do happen. So it’s not about panicking and trying to do something new, “ said Rabada during a virtual press conference.

“We need to assess where we went wrong. We’ve talked about the game and where we can improve. We need to look at the positives of that match,” he added.

“Losses can happen so it’s just about getting the act together and coming back strongly. Having identified what we have done wrong and have done right, we just need to make some minor changes,” said Rabada.

Rabada also ruled out that only bowling can alone help the team lift the trophy.

“I think it has to be a collective team work. Look, we have had seven different Man of the Match awardees in all the games that we have won. We are not depending any one player in particular. There are so many match-winners in our team, so it shows that all of us are hungry to win.”

“I am the one who’s lucky to get the wickets, but everyone has been contributing to the side. All the bowlers, batsmen and even fielders have chipped in from time to time to help team win,” added Rabada.

He also revealed that he cherishes bowling in tandem with compatriot Nortje.

“It’s awesome bowling with him, I mean he has done really well. He has got a lot of pace, he’s always willing to learn and always open to new ideas, and I think that’s a great trait to have,” said Rabada.

On the other, Kolkata are in the fourth spot with 10 points. They are hoping for a change of fortunes with the change in leadership.

They suffered a morale-denting loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by eight wickets. They were restricted to 84/8, which exposed the chinks in their batting line-up.

Kolkata’s campaign suffered a huge blow when their ace spinner Sunil Narine was called for a suspect bowling action. Going by the current forms of both the teams, Delhi look favorites against a depleted Kolkata.

In the other match of the day, giant-killers Punjab will look to remain afloat with a victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Both the teams are in the middle of table with eight points each with both trying to keep their hopes alive. They need to win all of their matches to make it to the play-offs.

However, Punjab are brimming with confidence with three wins on a trot. Having defeated Mumbai Indians in a double Super Over match before beating Delhi in the next game by five wickets, Punjab have shown great resilience and will look to keep the winning momentum going.

Hyderabad are coming into match on the back of a win and will be hoping to stop Punjab’s juggernaut and remain in contention for the play-offs.