After waylaying Mumbai Indians in its opening match, Delhi Capitals has flattered to deceive against debutants Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants.
The Capitals failed to chase a middling target against the Titans while against the Giants they slipped badly after a Prithvi Shaw super show.
Under pressure
The two successive defeats have put pressure on the team’s famed batting line-up which hasn’t quite lived up to pre-tournament hype.
Rishabh Pant and company struggled to force the pace against the Giants’ spinners and failed to post a challenging total.
The Capitals’ foreign imports David Warner and Anrich Nortje had an eminently forgettable debut against the Giants. The duo appeared rusty, but their form will be crucial to the Giants further success. The misfiring bunch has its task cut out when it takes on the in-form side Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.
The Pat Cummins-inspired annihilation of Mumbai Indians was Knight Riders’ second straight win.
Umesh on song
Umesh Yadav has rediscovered his mojo and has given his team crucial breakthroughs with the new ball. Mystery spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine have continued to tie the opposition batters in knots. The opposition teams haven’t been able to dominate the Knight Riders’ bowling and it has made things easier for the batters.
Though there is an element of inconsistency among its top-order the fact that Knight Riders bat deep and with powerful hitters has seen them snatch comeback wins.
As current table-toppers, the Knight Riders go into the match as the favourite.
