IPL 2020 | Delhi Capitals eye entry into play-offs, top of table position in match against Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR are heading into the contest after an embarrassing batting performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore

The Delhi Capitals would expect more from their batsmen after an underwhelming performance in the loss to Kings XI Punjab when they take on a low-on-confidence Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL game here on Saturday.

For Delhi, opener Shikhar Dhawan has been in brilliant form but even his record-setting hundred was not enough to save the side from a defeat against the Kings XI Punjab due to the lack of contributions from the other batters.

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Young Prithvi Shaw needs to bat with more responsibility at the top since Dhawan may not be able to rescue the side all the time. Shaw's last four innings have included two ducks.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer has not been hitting the ball as fluently as he was before suffering a side strain. Rishabh Pant, who made a comeback from injury against Punjab, also has not yet set the stage on fire.

Iyer and Pant, along with Marcus Stoinis, form the backbone of the Capitals middle order. They are vital cogs in DC's wheels and need to do more than just making good starts.

Pacer Anrich Nortje and his South African compatriot Kagiso Rabada have been instrumental in the superb run of the Capitals thus far. Nortje, however, had a niggle and missed the last match against Punjab.

If he comes back, it will add sting to DC's attack. If he plays, Australian pacer Daniel Sams will have to make way for him.

KKR are heading into the contest after an embarrassing batting performance against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Blown away by Mohammed Siraj's furious spell, KKR managed to get just 84 runs on the board.

It certainly was a confidence-crushing defeat and KKR need to regroup quickly.

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Sitting at fourth place on the table with 10 points, they would be desperate to increase their tally to stay alive in the play-off race. Even the change in captaincy has not instilled much confidence in the side.

The performance of pacer Lockie Ferguson has been the only bright spot for them amid the disappointment of Andre Russell's poor run.

Russell missed out on the last match due to an injury and if he is fit, it will be interesting to see if the team management reposes faith in him.

KKR need a collective effort from now on with skipper Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana all required to contribute.

The squads:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (c), Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Tom Banton, Siddhesh Lad, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrior, Shivam Mavi, Rinku Singh, Chris Green, M Siddharth and Nikhil Naik.

Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer (c), Kagiso Rabada, Marcus Stoinis, Sandeep Lamichhane, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimron Hetmyer, Alex Carey, Mohit Sharma, Prithvi Shaw, Lalit Yadav, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel, Tushar Deshpande, Rishabh Pant, Harshal Patel, Keemo Paul, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Daniel Sams.

The match starts at 3.30 pm.