IPL 2022 KKR vs DC Preview - Star men shooting blanks for the Capitals

Key match stats KKR vs DC

Pitch Stats – Brabourne Stadium

Average first innings score: 182
Average first innings winning score: 192
Average powerplay score: 52
All-time win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 50% / 50%

Team form KKR vs DC
KKR – WLWW
DC – WLL
Recent meetings: IPL 2021 - KKR won by 3 wickets, KKR won by 3 wickets, DC won by 7 wickets

KKR vs DC Preview

With Mumbai Indians and CSK languishing near the foot of the table this was surely the perfect season for the Delhi Capitals to end their long wait for a first IPL title. However, on early showings there are plenty of question marks over the current Capitals side as they head into a crunch game against early pace setters KKR.

It was of course KKR who ended the Capital's hopes last season with a narrow win in the 2nd eliminator match and while a repeat of that outcome wouldn't be terminal for Delhi it'd certainly leave them with work to do if they want to extend their run of playoff appearances to 4 in a row - no other franchise has been so consistent over the 3 previous years!

I'm sure the DC coaches and squad were hoping that the arrival of David Warner and availability of Anrich Nortje would provide a boost against LSG last time out but both had very disappointing days out. Warner looked woefully short of touch as he struggled to 4 from 12 balls, his problems put into context by the ease at which fellow opener Prithvi Shaw hit the bowling around. Then Anrich Nortje went at 15 in over before eventually being forced out of the attack for dangerous bowling following 2 beamers in an over. Things can only get better right?

KKR meanwhile looked like they would be involved in a tense finish against MI. When Dre Russell went to the first ball of the 14th over, KKR still needed 61 from 41 balls with just 5 wickets in hand.

However, Pat Cummins hadn't read the script and played the innings of his life to equal the fastest ever 50 recorded in IPL cricket and lead KKR to victory with an incredible 4 overs to spare, heaping missery on fellow Aussie Daniel Sams by taking what was ultimately the final over the match for 35 runs!

The good news for KKR is that they seem to have lots of players in form or at least capable of making match winning contributions. If it's not the bowling of Yadav and Southee then it's Narine and Chakravarty that will get you. If it's not the hitting of Andre Russell then it'll be Pat Cummins.

Actually if you were to be ultra critical, you'd probably say that KKR are yet to put together a complete batting performance so far this season but the fact that they've won 3 out of 4 anyway is ominous for the remainder of the IPL 2022.

This game also gives Shreyas Iyer, former captain of Delhi Capitals, a chance to show his previous employers what they are missing. Is it reasonable to believe that had Iyer not have been injured on international duty prior to last season's IPL that he'd still be with and indeed captaining the opposition today? Who knows but his leadership of KKR so far has been very good indeed!

The Brabourne Stadium has seen plenty of big hitting so far this IPL including last night's dramatic win by Gujrat Titans. With 2 powerful batting sides and some big hitters at the death, it could be another thriller.

KKR vs DC head to head

DC bowling vs KKR batting

We wait to see whether KKR will give Aaron Finch an appearance for a record 9th different IPL outfit. The most vulnerable member of the squad in that regard would be Rahane but it would also mean that an overseas player would need to be dropped too and that might prove problematic.

Sam Billings is currently keeping wicket after Sheldon Jackson played the first couple of games and while the later kept very well, it seems that KKR prefer the stronger option that the Englishman brings with the bat. Whether they re-jig their line-up to accommodate the Aussie white ball captain remains to be seen.

Kuldeep Yadav head to head vs Finch

If he does play, Finch will certainly be concerned about his prior record against the in form Kuldeep Yadav who has been one of the few bright spots for the Capitals so far this season.

One of the big disappointments with ball in hand for DC so far this season is Shardul Thakur who has claimed just 1 wicket while going at an economy of over 10 an over in his first 3 games for his new franchise.

Thakur head to head vs Russell

If Dre Russell get a couple of overs against him then Pat Cummins record equalling knock might look pedestrian in comparison if previous encounters are anything to go by!

KKR bowling vs DC batting

Umesh Yadav has been brilliant in the early stages of IPL 2022 and seeing off the new ball threat that he poses will be crucial if DC are to get a much needed win from this match.

He has dismissed DC's opening pair of Warner (3) and Shaw (1) from the 54 balls he's bowled at them in past T20 matches so they are well aware of the challenge that he provides.

However, Yadav's record against Rishabh Pant is less impressive as demonstrated by the stats below and perhaps this i just the kind of match-up that the Delhi skipper needs to get his tournament up and running.

Umesh Yadav head to head vs Rishabh Pant

A major plus point for DC is the prior form of their top order against Sunil Narine who has been his usual miserly self, bowling 16 overs at an economy rate of just 4.75 in the tournament so far. If the likes of Warner and Prithvi Shaw can take him on then perhaps this KKR team can be put under pressure for the first time in 2022.

Sunil Narine head to head vs Warner and Shaw

All stats used in this blog are from my own database. Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and background images from the below sources and used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free

https://www.iplt20.com/
https://pixabay.com/images/search/cricket%20stadium/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en