What The Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders will be keen to return to winning ways when they take on each other in Match 26 of VIVO IPL 2016. The Delhi Daredevils won three on the trot before falling one run short of the target in their previous match against the Gujarat Lions. The team will have taken lessons from their performance in that match; they started poorly with both bat and ball, before clawing their way back into the contest. KKR are sitting second in the standings with 4 wins from six matches. There are plenty of similarities in their two defeats; not only have they lost both matches to the defending champions Mumbai Indians, but they are also the only matches in which they have batted first. KKR will be keen to find a fix to that anomaly in their game; they need to cultivate a habit of defending targets if they aim to go the distance in the competition. When

30 April 2016, 1600 Hrs IST Where Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi Weather Temperature: Max 43°c, Min 39°c Humidity: Max 8% Wind: 20kmph The Protagonists

Since his century against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Quinton de Kock has had a quiet tournament; he has been dismissed for 9 & 5. On evidence of what one saw in the last two matches, it appears the left-hander runs out of patience if he doesn’t going quickly. But in a team that sports a very young and inexperienced top order, de Kock needs to be prepared to allow the tide to sail over and then cash in when the opportunity presents itself. DD could also do with sending JP Duminy to bat earlier; the South African needs to bat out a few deliveries before he can flex his muscles and start tonking the ball. On the bowling front, one expects the pitch will be dry given the high temperatures and hence the role of the two spinners – Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir becomes critical. Given that conditions are expected to assist the spinners, one can expect KKR will unleash their spin trio of Sunil Narine, Shakib-al-Hasan and Piyush Chawla. On the batting front, skipper Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa have helped the team off to quick starts consistently and the focus will be on them yet again to set a platform. Head to Head The head-to-head between the Delhi Daredevils and the Kolkata Knight Riders stands at 10-6 in favour of the latter. KKR have the edge when it comes to matches played against DD at the Kotla too; they have a 4-1 win-loss record. Trivia In their six matches so far this season, KKR have had opening partnerships of 69, 21, 92, 82, 0 & 69. In contrast, Delhi Daredevils’ best opening partnership in their five matches is 24. In the four matches KKR have won, the overall economy rate of their bowlers has been 6.93. In the two matches they’ve lost, the overall economy rate of their bowlers is 9.85. The Kolkata Knight Riders batsmen have hit the fewest sixes in VIVO IPL 2016 – 21. The Delhi Daredevils leg-spinner Amit Mishra has an economy rate of 5.57 in 8 matches against the Kolkata Knight Riders. What Next For Kolkata Knight Riders: v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Bengaluru, 2 May 2016 (2000 Hrs) For Delhi Daredevils: v Gujarat Lions at Rajkot, 3 May 2016 (2000 Hrs)