"It's all about spin (KKR) vs pace (DC)" - Twitter reacts as Kolkata and Delhi square off in the second qualifier at Sharjah

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Delhi Capitals (DC) will face off in the second qualifier of IPL 2021 in Sharjah. It is a knock-out game and the winner will play in the final, so both teams will be looking to give their best effort on the field.

Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and chose to field first. Andre Russell continued to be on the sidelines as Kolkata went in with an unchanged side. The Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, have brought in Marcus Stoinis for Tom Curran to strengthen their batting.

Here are the playing XIs:

Delhi Capitals XI: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje.

Kolkata Knight Riders XI: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (w), Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy.

Both sets of fans seemed thrilled to witness the high octane clash between two good teams in the second qualifier and took to Twitter to express it. They also gave their views on the team selections of both teams.

Here are some of the best reactions:

It's all about spin(kkr) vs pace(dc) #IPL2O21 #DCvsKKR

Marcus 'Hulk' Stoinis is back 💪🏻

#DCvsKKR #KKRvDC https://t.co/DhdZNzv0IU

Rishabh Pant Look So Nervous Yaar
He should Be Active and High Energy

#DCvsKKR #KKRvDC

KKR fielding first.. Adios Delhi, i really wanted to see them winning the trophy.. Alas it wasn't to be💔 #DCvsKKR #IPL2O21

Squeaky bum time. Already lost the toss and defending a total again after the last two matches #DCvsKKR https://t.co/K7DxuW31N5

DC playing with their best combination and KKR playing without Russell. Advantage Delhi for sure.
#DCvsKKR

. Wow !! What a time for @MStoinis to step in. Such an impact player in a crunch game like this.

Does this makes #DelhiCapitals the hot favorites ? #DCvsKKR

So #DC in playoffs: Matches 10, Won 2, Lost 8, Win% 20
#KKR Matches 11, Won 7, Lost 4, Win% 63.6 #CricitwithBadri #DCvsKKR

Spinners when they realise the Q2 is in Sharjah! @ashwinravi99 and @akshar2026 have a huge role to play for @delhicapitals while @KKRiders have @chakaravarthy29
#SunilNarine in their ranks.

#DCvsKKR #Qualifer2 #IPL2021 https://t.co/FgWM8G9jPR

Rishabh Pant in IPL playoffs:

Innings - 6
Runs - 199
Avg - 49.75
SR - 152
Fifties - 2

#DCvsKKR #IPL2O21 #KKRvDC #DCvKKR https://t.co/r8X2gJRDht

I feel DC's campaign will end today: Aakash Chopra

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra predicted that the Delhi Capitals will lose today's (October 13) contest against the Kolkata Knight Riders and exit the tournament. Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Chopra previewed the second qualifier match and then went on to give his predictions for the match. He said:

"I am saying Kolkata will win. I feel Delhi's campaign will end today, you will not be able to win the match today. You will bid goodbye to this tournament because of self-goals and unforced errors again. There was no reason for you to not score 180 that day and there was no reason for you to not defend that total with one over of Rabada left. Sharjah's ground is not going to suit your game."

The winner of the contest between the Knight Riders and the Capitals will face the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2021 final on Friday (October 15) in Dubai.

Both sides boast strong bowling line-ups. As a result, it will be the team that adapts well with the bat in Sharjah's sluggish pitch conditions that will end up on the winning side.