All eyes on Shreyas as DD strive to arrest slide

Another year. And yet again, Delhi Daredevils are in strife. Last in the table and with an uphill task on their hands.

However, it is a phase that the Daredevils can look forward to. Gautam Gambhir has stepped down and the mantle has been passed on to a promising young cricketer in Shreyas Iyer. A fearless, youthful, exuberant leader may just be what Delhi are looking.

But Iyer, without even having captained Delhi yet, has his hands full. Suddenly he is being looked at as Delhi's saviour. Will his good form drop now that there is greater burden on his shoulders? Does he drop the woefully out-of-form Gambhir?

Kolkata Knight Riders will perhaps be delighted that their opposition are in such a state. It couldn't have come at a better time for them, too. A win will further consolidate their position in the top four, and looking at how Delhi have fared recently - three consecutive losses, they will fancy themselves.

The pitch will also give KKR more reason for hope. The likes of Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla should do well on a pitch that held up a little. Delhi, too, will look to their bowlers to do well again. The inclusion of Avesh Khan and Liam Plunkett worked well for the home side in the last game, and they will hope the pace duo can repeat their good work from the last game.

What:Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders

When:April 27, 2018, Feroz Shah Kotla, 20:00 IST

What to expect:A hot evening, with temperature in the mid-30s.

Team News:

Delhi Daredevils:Daredevils lost themselves a game that they could have easily won. Their bowlers were on mark, even if Amit Mishra disappointed on his comeback. The leggie could be back on the bench again. Prithvi Shaw's blitz in the last game could earn himself another shot at the top. Jason Roy and Chris Morris's availability is still under cloud.

Probable XI:Prithvi Shaw, Gautam Gambhir, Shreyas Iyer (c), Glenn Maxwell, Rishabh Pant (wk), Rahul Tewatia, Daniel Christian, Amit Mishra/Shabhaz Nadeem, Liam Plunkett, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult.

Kolkata Knight Riders:There is a slight injury concern regarding Andre Russell, who stretched his right hamstring during the previous game against Kings XI Punjab and had to go off the field too. But otherwise KKR should retain the same side.

Probable XI:Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Tom Curran, Piyush Chawla, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav

Head to Head:

DD 7 - 13 KKR

Venue trends:

KKR have won seven out of their last eight matches against the hosts, Delhi.

Interesting face-offs

Narine vs DD: 12 matches; 17 wickets; Avg 16.65; SR 16.24; ER 6.15

Johnson vs Gambhir: Johnson has accounted for the southpaw thrice in 38 balls, conceding just 47 runs.

Maxwell vs Chawla: The Victorian batsman has scored 52 runs at a fair clip of 167.74 against Chawla but has got out to him thrice in 31 balls.

Approaching milestones:

Piyush Chawla will be playing his 200th T20 match.

IPL 2018 trends:

Robin Uthappa in IPL 2018:

Powerplay: 59 balls, 92 runs, one dismissal, Avg 92.00, SR 155.92

Middle overs: 32 balls, 36 runs, four dismissals, Avg 9.00, SR 112.50

Lynn has got out to spin and pace, thrice each. While he averages 40.33 against pace at a strike rate of 172.85, he struggles against spin with an average of 20, combined with a strike rate of 100.