IPL 2018, DD vs KKR: 5 player battles to look forward to

The Delhi Daredevils’ captain Gautam Gambhir stepped down this week and in their first game under new captain Shreyas Iyer, they welcome the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Feroz Shah Kotla tonight. DD are at the bottom of the table with 1 win in 6 and would need to win at least 6 out of the next 8 to have any chance of making it to the playoffs.

If they are to do it, then their campaign must be restarted tonight against KKR, a team which has traditionally dominated them. KKR beat them comfortably in the 1st encounter between these two sides and it is not an exaggeration to say that DD must be at their best if they are to win today. KKR themselves are coming off a heavy defeat against Kings XI Punjab and would like to get back to winning ways immediately.

The game will, of course, be decided by some of the individual battles that will take place tonight and here is a look at 5 of the most important ones.

#5 Amit Mishra v Chris Lynn

Both DD and Amit Mishra had a horror start to the tournament when the bowling attack was put to the sword by KL Rahul in the game against KXIP. The leg-spinner went for more than 11 an over in the game and did not make a reappearance in the team till their previous game against the same opponents. In a low scoring game, he helped DD exert control over the opponents and he is expected to keep his place in the side today against KKR.

He will be crucial for DD when the come up against KKR’s opening batsman Chris Lynn. The Australian has been amongst the runs but he has not been his usual self so far and if they are to keep him quiet then Mishra’s leg-spin could well be the antidote. Lynn has struggled against spin bowling so far in the tournament and his usual frenetic hitting has not been seen in full glory so far. However, if he manages to get on top of DD’s frontline spinner, then the hoss might be in trouble.