DC vs KKR: Delhi vs Kolkata, who will rule? Which player will shine at Kotla, what do the statistics say

DC vs KKR: Delhi vs Kolkata, who will rule? Which player will shine at Kotla, what do the statistics say

DC vs KKR: If Kolkata loses then will be out

IPL 2025, Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Match No. 48 of IPL 2025 will see Delhi Capitals host Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday, April 29 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Pitch Report: The pitch at Arun Jaitley Stadium is expected to be batting-friendly, with consistent bounce and shorter boundaries favoring aggressive stroke play. Spin bowlers might come into play later in the match, but overall, the conditions are ideal for high-scoring innings.

Weather Forecast: The weather in Delhi is predicted to be warm and hazy, with temperatures ranging from 27°C to 39°C during the match hours. Rain is not expected, and dew might play a role in the second innings.

Team Standings: DC currently holds fourth place in the points table with 12 points from nine games, while KKR is seventh with seven points from nine games

Head-to-Head: KKR leads the rivalry with 18 wins out of 34 matches, while DC has won 15

Delhi are currently placed fourth with six wins and three losses. They will hope to register a win against KKR and move up in the IPL 2025 standings. The team is recovering from a disappointing loss against RCB at their home ground. However, at the end of the season, it will be important that DC pulls up their socks as the two other teams are in almost the same position. KKR, on the other hand, have not caught their form.  With three wins, five losses and a draw in nine matches, Kolkata are currently seventh in the team standings (IPL 2025 Points Table), and they will be hoping to register their fourth win of the season. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side is in a must-win situation, and another loss could lead to their possible exit

Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) stats (DC vs KKR Records Key Stats and Records)

Ajinkya Rahane needs 83 runs to score 5000 IPL runs.

Venkatesh Iyer needs 39 runs to score 1500 IPL runs.

Karun Nair needs 3 sixes to complete 50 sixes in IPL.

Kuldeep Yadav needs 1 wicket to complete 100 wickets in IPL.

Who will be the focus in the Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) match?  (DC vs KKR Key Players)

Due to the poor form of Jake Fraser-McGurk, expectations will be high from Faf du Plessis to perform well at the top for DC. He played in three of the first four matches of the season, before missing four games due to a minor injury. He struggled on his return against RCB and has not crossed the 30 mark in any of the four matches he has played except his half-century against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

At the same time, Ajinkya Rahane is batting brilliantly this season, but he remains a challenge against spin bowling. In this match, he will be up against Kuldeep Yadav, who is in tremendous form at the moment. Rahane’s record against Kuldeep in IPL has not been very good. He has scored only 19 runs in 5 innings and has been dismissed twice.

KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane scored his last 50-plus score against Gujarat Titans two matches ago and has been in fine form since the start of the season. In eight innings, the veteran batsman has scored 271 runs at an average of 38.71 and a strike rate of 146.48, including three fifties. For the defending champions, who are in a win or lose position, Rahane will once again need to step up and give his side another blistering start. In 11 matches, left-arm spinner Axar Patel has managed to pick up only three wickets. The DC skipper may not have picked up as many wickets, but he has been economical. Bringing himself on in the powerplay against RCB, Axar picked up two wickets under the powerplay. With an effective arm-ball and the ability to change his pace, the 31-year-old will be crucial for his side to register their seventh win of the season. 

The good thing for DC is that their experienced opener Faf du Plessis is fit and he also played the last match. DC’s team has slipped to fourth place in the points table with six wins in nine matches after the last defeat and the result of the first match yesterday. However, Akshar Patel’s team knows how to make a comeback and KL Rahul can show wonders again. DC’s team did not practice on Monday because they played a match a day before. Kuldeep Yadav has led DC’s spin attack well this season. He was economical against RCB, although he could not take wickets, but Akshar Patel took two important wickets in the powerplay. Akshar’s economy rate has been the second best among spinners in the powerplay this season. Kuldeep has so far taken 11 wickets in the 7 to 16 overs phase and his economy rate has been 6.6 in the entire season, which is the best in the league.  DC’s spinners have taken 22 wickets so far, which is the third highest in the league.

KKR has given Rahmanullah Gurbaz a chance in the last two matches in place of Quinton de Kock. In the last match, he did not bat much due to rain. In the last match, the team also gave place to Rovman Powell in place of Moeen Ali. He can also be played in this match. Harshit Rana got scratched while fielding a day before the match, after which he was seen bandaging but he has said that he is fit for tomorrow’s match.

KL Rahul has been scoring runs consistently this season and his role is going to be very important in this match too. In IPL, he has scored 114 runs in 11 innings against Sunil Narayan and has been out only twice. During this, his average has been 57.0 and strike rate 134.  Rahul has certainly scored 45 runs in five innings against Varun Chakravarthy but his strike rate has been just 98.

Tristan Stubbs has been out for less than 20 runs only once in eight innings this season, which shows his amazing consistency. Stubbs has the highest strike rate (269) in the death overs (17-20) since IPL 2024 and is second in the list of those who have hit the most sixes in this phase.

Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Probable Playing XI (DC vs KKR Playing XII)

Delhi Capitals playing 11 (Probables):

Faf du Plessis, Abhishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Dushmanta Chameera, Mukesh Kumar

Kolkata Knight Riders playing 11 (Probables):

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Sunil Narayan, Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakraborty, Angkrish Raghuvanshi