The DC Men in Blue have had a tough start to IPL 2022, losing consecutive games after winning our season opener. However, the fight shown by the boys in our last game, where some tight bowling took the game against the Lucknow Super Giants right to the death will give all fans hope that a change in fortunes is just around the corner.
Our clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders offers a great opportunity to set things right. A statement win against the table-toppers will hand a huge boost to Rishabh Pant and Co. and can get our campaign back on track.
Last match’s top-performer Prithvi Shaw held a similar opinion, with the swashbuckling opener talking about how DC aren’t far away from firing on all cylinders.
“Everyone is looking in good flow. A few ups and downs can happen in the IPL here and there, but I think we will come back stronger.”
Old Teammates Become Opponents in KKR vs DC
KKR have been in red-hot form, and they have some of our old DC boys performing well for them. Umesh Yadav has played the opening bowler’s role to perfection, picking up a season-high 6 powerplay wickets. His battle against Shaw and Warner will hold the key, and a strong start can give us the upper hand.
Shreyas Iyer has led KKR with aplomb, and he will come up against his old franchise for the first time. How Shreyas and Rishabh go about leading their respective sides will surely be closely followed by hardcore fans and neutrals alike.
There’s quality all around the park, and the battle of the spinners will be an enticing one too. Kuldeep has been mightily impressive in his first 3 games for DC, and he along with Bapu will look to get one over the opposition spin duo of Chakravarthy and Narine.
With Anas getting some game time under his belt as well, expect our Protea Fire to come into his own and start unleashing those thunderbolts on Sunday.
Stat Attack
Prithvi Shaw loves playing against KKR. He averages 56.83 and strikes at 170.50 against the Knights, and all DC fans would be hoping for a repeat of last season where our pocket dynamo unleashed 6 fours in one over against the same opponents.
Kuldeep’s impressive IPL 2022 start has seen him pick 6 wickets in 3 games. 4 more scalps and our wizard will reach 50 wickets in IPL.
Bapu has evolved into one of the most complete all-rounders in recent seasons. 1 run for him and 5 wickets will see him notch up 1000 runs and 100 wickets in the IPL – a testament to his all-round ability.
Key Battles
Shaw vs Umesh
Umesh has been making the ball talk, while Prithvi let his bat do all the talking last game with a blistering display. This is a powerplay battle you need to watch out for on Sunday.
Shreyas vs Kuldeep
Kuldeep has been getting us those vital breakthroughs in the middle overs while keeping things tight, and his target this time would be the KKR skipper.
Rishabh vs Dre Russ
RP17 strikes at 200+ against Andre Russell, and with the West Indian ace likely to bowl at the death, this matchup can reap us some healthy returns as we look to return to winning ways.
