🏏IPL 2025 - Match 48: DC vs KKR on 29 April 2025 @ 7:30 PM IST🏏

🏏IPL 2025 - Match 48: DC vs KKR at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on 29 April 2025 @ 7:30 PM IST🏏

Delhi Capitals look to regroup at home as KKR come calling

DC have lost two of the three games in Delhi and defending champs KKR will look to take advantage of their inconsistency

DC's home form a concern

Under first-time captain Axar Patel, Delhi Capitals (DC) got off to an flier, IPL 2025 winning their first four matches. But their fortunes took a tumble since their return to Delhi. In their three matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium so far, they have lost two and their only win came via a Super Over.

Against Mumbai Indians, they collapsed in a 206 chase despite being in the driving seat until Karun Nair fell in the 12th over. Against Rajasthan Royals, they looked like they were headed for defeat until Mitchell Starc defended nine runs in the final over to take the game to a one-over shootout. Against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, their bowlers couldn't capitalise on an early collapse.

A drop-off in the form of some of their key players has played a part. KL Rahul scored 185 runs in his first three games (he missed DC's season opener), averaging 92.50 and striking at 169.72. However, since their first game in Delhi, he has only managed 179 runs in five innings, with his strike rate also dropping to 127.85.

In DC's first four games, Kuldeep Yadav took eight wickets, conceding at less than a run a ball. In the next five matches, his number of wickets have halved, his economy rate has gone up to 7.35 and his strike rate has jumped from 12 to 30. Similarly, Mitchell Starc took nine wickets from his first four outings, but he has only picked up two wickets from the next five games.

[Tag and Logo credit to Wildestdreams]

Form guide

Delhi Capitals LWLWL(Last five completed matches, most recent first)

Kolkata Knight Riders LLWLW

There is not much difference in terms of Wins and losses in the last 5 matches.

In the spotlight

With Jake Fraser-McGurk woefully out of form, the expectations will be high on Faf du Plessis to deliver at the top for DC. He played in three of the first four matches of the season, before missing four games with a niggle. He struggled on his return against RCB, and has failed to cross 30 in any of the four matches he played except his half-century against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

In his third season with KKR, Rahmanullah Gurbaz has a chance to get an extended run of games, having replaced Quinton de Kock at the top of the order. The opening partnership has been an area of concern for KKR and they will hope that Gurbaz can form a strong alliance with Sunil Narine. Gurbaz was out for just one run in his first game of the season and scored 1 not out in the washout against PBKS, so he will hope for a good outing in Delhi.

Pitch and conditions

DC mentor Kevin Pietersen said after the RCB game that they had gone for a slow and low surface to counter their opponents' strength but they will hope for a better batting surface on Tuesday night. The match will be played on pitch No. 5, which is in the centre, so there won't be a shorter side for the batters to target.

DC vs KKR Match: Delhi Weather Forecast

According to Weather.com, expect really warm conditions in Delhi with the temperatures expected to touch the 39 degrees Celsius mark in the day and fall to around 26 degrees Celsius at night. Humidity levels will be fairly high as well with it touching the low-to-mid thirties.

DC vs KKR: Arun Jaitley Stadium Pitch Report

Sometimes we can get to see a high-scoring track at the Arun Jaitley Stadium but in the recent game between DC vs RCB, it was a fairly dry pitch that was used and it resulted in the spinners being brought into the game. If last game is anything to go by, then we can expect a similar affair in the upcoming clash in Delhi.

Head to head: KKR have a 18-15 lead over DC in contests between these two sides. But since 2022, DC have an upper hand, having won three out of five. At the Arun Jaitley stadium it's an even 5-5 but KKR last win against DC here came in 2017, with three defeats since that, including a Super Over finish in 2019.

Head to Head - Last 5 Matches

KKR won by 7 wickets (with 21 balls remaining), 30-Apr-2024

KKR won by 106 runs, 04-Apr-2024

DC won by 4 wickets (with 4 balls remaining), 21-Apr-2023

DC won by 4 wickets (with 6 balls remaining), 29-Apr-2022

DC won by 44 runs, 10-Apr-2022

Batters to watch(Recent stats)

KL Rahul, DC

9 M • 369 Runs • 52.71 Avg • 146.42 SR

Abishek Porel, DC

10 M • 311 Runs • 34.56 Avg • 157.07 SR

Ajinkya Rahane, KKR

9 M • 271 Runs • 38.71 Avg • 146.48 SR

Angkrish Raghuvanshi, KKR

8 M • 197 Runs • 39.4 Avg • 149.24 SR

Bowlers to watch(Recent stats)

Kuldeep Yadav, DC

10 M • 13 Wkts • 6.73 Econ • 18.46 SR

Mitchell Starc, DC

9 M • 11 Wkts • 10.09 Econ • 17.45 SR

Harshit Rana, KKR

10 M • 13 Wkts • 9.06 Econ • 15.23 SR

Varun Chakravarthy, KKR

10 M • 12 Wkts • 6.73 Econ • 18.5 SR

Stats and trivia

• Kuldeep Yadav has bowled three deliveries to Sunil Narine in two innings and dismissed him twice.
• Only R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Piyush Chawla (27 each) have more wickets against DC than Sunil Narine, who has 24.
• Only Chennai Super Kings (19.77) have a lower average for the opening partnership this season than KKR (19.87) and DC (24.22)

After starting the tournament with four successive wins, Delhi Capitals have blown hot and cold. They have suffered three losses in their last five matches, and it could have been four, if not for some Mitchell Starc magic in a Super Over finish against Rajasthan Royals. Their homecoming hasn't been ideal either, with two defeats in three matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Yet, despite their latest loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, DC remain in the top half of the points table and are still in contention for a top-two finish. The same, however, cannot be said for their opponents on Tuesday.

Kolkata Knight Riders had an inconsistent start to their campaign, winning three and losing three. Thanks to some big-margin victories, though, their net run rate stayed positive, and just three matches ago, they were in a position to even top the table after bowling Punjab Kings out for 111. But the slide began in that very game, when they were bundled out for 95. Since then, they've lost to Gujarat Titans and endured a no-result at home due to rain. With only a solitary win in five attempts at Eden Gardens and just seven points from nine matches, the Knight Riders will be hoping for a turnaround away from home - starting with the DC clash, the first of their three remaining away games.

Having fallen short in the chase of 206 against Mumbai Indians at home, DC lost to GT after posting in excess of 200 while they weren't able to defend 162 against RCB despite showing some fight early on with the ball. Even in the game against RR, DC just about managed to force the affair into a Super Over after getting a first-innings total of 188. The batters have all got starts but haven't been able to convert them into a game-changing contribution, and Axar Patel and Co. will be eager to make amends quickly.

For KKR, the bulk of their troubles have stemmed from batting struggles, particularly in their last two defeats. Their issues at the top have been glaring - they remain the only team without a fifty-plus opening stand this season, with just 159 runs coming from their first-wicket partnerships across nine innings. The middle order hasn't fared much better in recent games, with their Nos 4-8 having the worst average (20.00) among all teams, compounding KKR's problems. With six teams well ahead of them in the standings, they need to find solutions quickly, as time is fast running out.

When: DC vs KKR - Tuesday, April 29 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

What to expect: The surface for the previous game was on the drier side, offering more assistance to the spinners, particularly in the first innings. With dew also likely to play a role, teams would prefer to chase here, while a total in the 190-200 range should be considered a strong one to defend.

Team watch

Delhi Capitals

Injury/unavailability: Faf du Plessis returned for the last game after missing a few matches due to a groin injury. He looked a bit rusty during his 26-ball stay for only 22 runs but DC are likely to persist with him and retain the same combination.

Tactics & matchups: While most of the batters in the current DC line-up do not have favourable match-ups against the KKR spin duo of Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine, KL Rahul has fared slightly better. Rahul has scored 114 runs off 85 balls against Narine, and despite being dismissed twice, he averages 57.00 with a strike rate of 134.12 against him. Rahul has been slower against Varun, with 45 runs off 46 balls, with one dismissal.

Meanwhile, the DC spinners could prove handy going against Ajinkya Rahane, who has struggled a bit against spin this season. He has 81 runs in 100 balls against spin, averaging 20.00 with a strike rate of 123.46 and a boundary percentage of 12.3. Dushmantha Chameera could also prove useful against Andre Russell, with the Sri Lankan pacer having dismissed him thrice in 17 balls in T20 cricket.

Probable XII: Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh Sharma

Kolkata Knight Riders

Injury/unavailability: Harshit Rana appeared in a lot of pain, hurting his elbow after diving to catch a ball next to the practice pitches in the previous game against PBKS, and did not bowl after that. But the pacer, who attended the press conference on the eve of the match with a bandage to his elbow, said he was fit and good to go. Meanwhile, considering the surface might aid spin, Moeen Ali is likely to slot in for Rovman Powell while KKR might opt for an extra batting option like Ramandeep Singh or Manish Pandey.

Tactics & matchups: While the rest of the players were either playing football or involved in other drills, Russell was the first to hit the nets as he faced a variety of throwdowns, including a left-armer, and was busy dispatching them across the fence. Although he hasn't been at his best this season, Russell will be a vital cog for KKR against Starc. The West Indian hasn't been dismissed yet by the left-arm pacer in all T20s and has scored 55 runs off 23 balls at a strike rate of 239.13.

Meanwhile, Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine will be the key bowlers for KKR, with the two spinners having favourable match-ups against a majority of the opposition batters. Axar Patel has been dismissed twice by Varun and has scored only 7 off 23, while he has been dismissed thrice by Narine for 35 runs off 29 balls, Faf du Plessis and Tristan Stubbs have been dismissed twice each by Varun.

Probable XII: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh/Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Moeen Ali, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy