The Indian Premier League continues on Tuesday when the IPL 2025 heads back to Delhi for a huge match between the Delhi Capitals and the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, one which is pivotal for the visitors.
There is a chance that they need to win out to make the finals from here but certainly need four wins from five so they could do with winning this one. Delhi are in a better position but a queue is forming behind them which they will want to keep at bay.
Delhi Capitals
The Delhi Capitals opened this campaign in fine fashion with four wins on the spin, although it should be remembered that they stole victory from the jaws of defeat in the opening game. Since then though they have lost three out of five matches and won another on a super over so there has been a changing of the tide where the Capitals are concerned. They are still in a good position on 12 points with five matches to play, particularly with 16 points usually good enough for the top four so they only need two wins from their last five.
Rather than the result here though I think that it is fair to say that the Capitals need a convincing performance, especially with the bat. Jake Fraser-McGurk wasn’t doing it at the top of the order but since he was dropped they have struggled a little to balance the side out which is something to think about. The Delhi bowlers have generally been good this season but they had no answer to the batting power that the Royal Challengers Bangalore showed up with here on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders
This certainly hasn’t been the defence of the title that the Kolkata Knight Riders would have wanted so far. Last term they blazed a trail at the top throughout the campaign and this time around they find themselves at the wrong end of the table and in urgent need of some consistency if they are going to take their title defence into the finals. Delhi are one of the teams above them so knocking them off would be a huge help in their bid to extend their campaign.
Kolkata have won just one of their last five matches and are a little too inconsistent with the bat for comfort. They are probably going to come into their own with the ball over the remainder of the competition now that the pitches are beginning to tire but that won’t count for much unless they can start delivering solid 20 over innings with the bat from the top to the end of the innings. They have the players to play the necessary roles but those players have to step up now.
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Key Players
KL Rahul returned to the Delhi Capitals side like a house on fire in the opening half of the season but he has gone a little quiet in recent matches. He is the lynchpin in the middle order and the home side could do with him coming good here.
I always think that Sunil Narine is the pacesetter for a good Kolkata Knight Riders performance. If he catches fire with the bat they tend to flow and if he is economical with the ball then the pressure created assists the other bowlers. He is a key player.
Betting
I wouldn’t say that these two batting units are struggling but they are not firing on the same number of cylinders that they can do or were at the beginning of the season and with that in mind I wonder if we will get a slightly lower scoring match than usual. There are definitely enough top quality bowlers to keep those struggling batters honest and in a match where both really need a win it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if the top is slightly off the scoring.
The run line for this one is 366.5 which requires scores in the 180 range for the under to fail. The last two Delhi Capitals scores have been in the 160 range and the last total that Kolkata posted didn’t get that high so there are just enough signs that the scoring might not reach 366.5, especially when you consider that the last match here was only a couple of days ago. We won’t be on the same pitch here you wouldn’t think but that hasn’t left too much time to make this one a belter. All in all, I’ll side with the bowlers rather than the batters in this one.
Tips
Back Under 366.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.90 with Betway
