Picking a combined DC-KKR playing XI for IPL 2024 ft. Rishabh Pant, Sunil Narine
The Delhi Capitals (DC) face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match number 16 of IPL 2024 at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, April 3.
DC registered their first win of IPL 2024 by beating Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs in their previous game. Meanwhile, KKR have won both games. In their previous clash, they hammered Royal Challengers Bengaluru by seven wickets.
Delhi batted first against Chennai and put up 191-5, with their top-three producing impressive performances before restricting Chennai Super Kings to 171-6. Kolkata, meanwhile, dominated their tussle against Bengaluru. Bowling first, they restricted RCB to 182-6 before gunning down the target in 16.5 overs.
KKR have a slender 16-15 lead over DC in the head-to-head battle. As the teams gear up to take on each other in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, we pick a combined XI of both sides for IPL 2024.
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Openers: David Warner, Sunil Narine
DC's David Warner and KKR's Sunil Narine would form a deadly opening pair in the combined XI. Warner scored 49 off 34 against Rajasthan Royals and followed it up with 52 off 35 in the triumph over Chennai.
Opening the innings against RCB, Narine played a brilliant innings, smashing 47 off 22. His knock featured two fours and as many as five sixes as KKR chased down a target of 183 with ease. Earlier, Narine had also claimed the big wicket of Glenn Maxwell.
Middle-order/ All-rounders: Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Axar Patel
Venkatesh Iyer played an impressive knock for Kolkata Knight Riders in their win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He smashed 50 off 30, hitting three fours and four sixes, consolidating on the great start given by Narine and Phil Salt.
Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant found form in the game against CSK after showing glimpses of promise in the first two games. The left-handed batter scored an aggressive 51 off 32, whacking four fours and three sixes, which included his trademark one-handed hit for a maximum.
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer also finds a place in the combined XI. After being dismissed for a duck against SunRisers Hyderabad, he contributed 39* off 24, finishing the game against Bengaluru.
KKR's dangerous duo of Rinku Singh and Andre Russell would be the finishers in the combined XI. Rinku hasn't had much to do in IPL 2024 so far. He contributed 23 against SRH and 5* versus RCB. After a brilliant all-round show against SRH, Russell picked up 2-29 against Bengaluru. He was not needed with the bat, as Kolkata got home with ease while chasing.
DC's Axar Patel is crucial with both bat and ball, as he brings great balance to the playing XI. He played two handy cameos for Delhi in the first two games. With his left-arm spin, he has been economical and has also chipped in with two wickets.
Bowlers: Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Harshit Rana
With Mitchell Starc and Anrich Nortje struggling for rhythm, the DC-KKR combined XI features an all-Indian pace attack. It also means that the team only features three overseas players.
Delhi Capitals left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed was the Player of the Match for his impressive bowling effort against Chennai Super Kings. He dismissed CSK's in-form openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra cheaply. Chennai could never recover from the setbacks as Khaleel finished with impressive figures of 2-21.
Mukesh Kumar also had a memorable game for Delhi against Chennai. He registered figures of 3-21 in three overs, getting the key wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Sameer Rizvi and Shivam Dube.
Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Harshit Rana completes the combined playing XI. The right-arm pacer has had two good games in IPL 2024. He claimed 3-33 in the high-scoring clash against SRH and 2-39 in the impressive win over RCB.