IPL 2021: Match 25, DC v KKR – COC Predicted Playing XIs

Rishabh Pant needs a win to get back on the wagon, while Eoin Morgan craves for momentum with a victory.

The 25^th match of the IPL 2021 will see Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match will be played on April 29, 2021, at 7.30 PM IST.

Delhi Capitals are coming into this match after a heart-breaking one-run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), while Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are coming off their second win in the tournament over the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

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Therefore both the teams have great incentive to win this match and move forward in the tournament and keeping this in mind, Team COC presents the Predicted Playing XIs for the DC v KKR match to be played in Ahmedabad.

DELHI CAPITALS (DC)

Delhi Capitals (DC) had their heartbroken as RCB defeated them by one run only, as they failed to chase down the total of 171 runs despite a blitzkrieg from Shimron Hetmyer and anchoring knock by captain Rishabh Pant.

DC’s team balance has been knocked a bit by the absence of Shreyas Iyer and now R Ashwin as well. While Iyer was ruled out of the tournament due to injury, Ashwin decided to opt out of the tournament owing to COVID-19 concerns.

DC batting has been dependent on openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw giving them good starts, as neither Ajinkya Rahane nor Steve Smith has done anything special at the no.3 spot. Rishabh Pant at no.4 has done well but struggled against RCB to get the ball away.

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Marcus Stoinis is yet to find its touch, while Shimron Hetmyer showed his value in the match against RCB.

Bowling-wise, Akshar Patel and Amit Mishra have the opposition batsmen on a string, while Avesh Khan has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and succeeded. Ishant Sharma was impressive on his return to the DC side in IPL, but Kagiso Rabada has looked a bit rusty and DC might replace him with countrymate Anrich Nortje.

Though they are facing a KKR team down on luck a bit, they can’t take them lightly.  

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS (KKR)

Eoin Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team will be on a high after defeating the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their last match. Morgan has experience of playing in Ahmedabad as he led England in the five T20I series against India and can form strategies accordingly.

However, they need to fix their opening partnership, as both Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill have been struggling to give them flying starts in powerplay overs and they might try to open with Sunil Narine, who had done the job previously as well.

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Rahul Tripathi might get to open with Narine to maximize the powerplay overs, while either Rana and Gill or both move one spot down.

The middle order of Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, and Andre Russell has some form with the bat, while Pat Cummins has been a surprise with the willow.

Cummins however has not been amongst the wickets, while Shivam Mavi came into his own with the ball in the last game and picked wickets along with the low economy. Prasidh Krishna is improving as the tournament goes on, while Varun Chakravarthy is their star bowler who is giving them important wickets at crucial times.

The match is an interesting one for both teams and a win or loss could impact their standings on the points table and confidence.  

DC COC Predicted Playing XI:

Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Steve Smith, Rishabh Pant (C&WK), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Akshar Patel, Avesh Khan, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma

KKR COC Predicted Playing XI:

Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna