IPL 2026: DC, KKR, betting on better batting ahead of crunch clash

David Miller. Pic/PTI; (right) Dwayne Bravo. Pic/IPL

There isn't much separating the two teams that face off here on Friday. Host Delhi Capitals, still reeling from the thrashing in their previous match against Chennai Super Kings, are currently ranked seventh in the points table with four wins and six losses from 10 matches and eight points in the kitty. Their opponents Kolkata Knight Riders are placed eighth, having played one match less, with three wins, five losses and one no result and seven points in the bag. Both teams, however, need to win their remaining four and five matches respectively to make it to the Playoffs.

DC's top-scorer KL Rahul (445) during the team's practice session in New Delhi on Thursday. Pic/PTI

DC big-hitter David Miller believes the team have fallen short in crucial moments. "I don't think we've been playing bad cricket at all. We've been playing really good cricket, but there's just some moments in the game where we've kind of let ourselves down; it's just little phases here and there," Miller said at the match-eve press conference.

KKR vice-captain Rinku Singh (left) and top-order batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi in New Delhi on Thursday. Pic/PTI

On DC's batting disappointments, he added: "With the batting, it's pretty clear that the games we haven't done too well, we've lost wickets in clusters, two, three, four wickets closely, and it puts us into positions where we've got to rebuild and then obviously try and get a total that's competitive. Also, there are moments here and there where we've dropped a couple of catches that potentially could have changed the outcome of the game."

Meanwhile, three-time champions KKR haven't looked very impressive either. While their bowlers, led by Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, are showing signs of a comeback and pacer Kartik Tyagi has picked 11 wickets in nine matches, it's the batting that has been sub-par. Middle-order batsman Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been KKR's lead scorer with 268 runs in nine matches. Their next best batter is Rinku Singh with 237 runs. KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo believes shot selection is the problem. "The batsmen are working very hard; there's no lack of effort, it's just that sometimes the shot selection is wrong. We are just a game away from the batters firing," said Bravo.

Two
No. of times DC have failed to post a 160-plus score while batting first thrice this season

131.41
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane's strike-rate this IPL, the lowest among KKR's top batters (minimum 4 games)