Match details

Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Visakhapatnam, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big Picture - Whose home ground is it anyway?

Capitals know what it's like to fall behind early in the IPL. They lost their first five games in IPL 2023, which made coming back into the tournament tough. The victory against CSK was important keeping that in mind.

They don't have the batting depth that some of the other teams boast of, and will need their top order to fire again, and keep firing through the tournament.

But they will want runs from the other batters, too.

It won't be easy against KKR, who have won both their games so far this season. They had a scare in the opening game of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad but scored a clinical win against RCB. KKR don't have a lot of holes to plug, but the one area that needs sorting is their powerplay bowling.

As will the batting pack with the exception of Andre Russell, Phil Salt and Venkatesh Iyer.

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Delhi Capitals
Capitals brought in Shaw for the previous game, a move that paid off. He was later subbed off with Rasikh Salam coming in. If Capitals bowl first, depending on the surface, there is a chance Salam or Lalit Yadav get into the first XI, with Shaw coming in later. Vice versa if they bat first.

Probable XII: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 4 Mitchell Marsh 5 Tristan Stubbs/Jake Fraser-McGurk, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Abishek Porel, 8 Anrich Nortje/Jhye Richardson, 9 Mukesh Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Khaleel Ahmed, 12 Rasikh Salam/Lalit Yadav

Venkatesh seemed to have tweaked his back in KKR's previous game and was seen hobbling, but bowling coach Bharat Arun confirmed he was "fit and rearing to go".

Probable XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Venkatesh Iyer, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Angkrish Raghuvanshi 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Anukul Roy, 11 Harshit Rana, 12 Varun Chakravarthy/Suyash Sharma

Pitch and conditions

The pitch for the first game in Vizag had a decent covering of grass. It aided swing and seam movement almost throughout the 40 overs, and even swung even more under lights. Similar conditions could be expected for the DC vs KKR game, too. There's also a warning for excessive heat and humidity in Vizag, so something for the teams to note.

In the spotlight - Can Mitchell Starc have an impact?

After being overlooked for the first two games, Prithvi Shaw "came out of the gate like a raging bull", in the words of Mitchell McClenaghan on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut.

Shaw has had a rough time of it on and off the field in the recent past, but on Saturday, as he strode out for his first hit in IPL 2024, he seemed to be in great touch, scoring a 27-ball 43. Shaw's form is important to Capitals' hopes of going deep in the tournament, and they will be delighted with the way he has begun.

Every time Mitchell Starc comes on to bowl, it comes with that INR 24.75 crore price tag attached to him. Playing in the IPL for the first time since 2015, Starc has leaked runs big time. He went for 53 in his opening game against SRH and then 47 against RCB and is yet to figure in the wickets column. He will dearly hope to turn his fortunes around the next time he is out in the park.

Stats that matter - Rishabh Pant in sight of 3000

Quotes

"I hope the crowd will be with DC this time and will support us. We will also make sure the crowd is enjoying. We want to finish on a nice note because it is our last game here in Vizag."
Pravin Amre is hoping to feel more at home

"He is one of the most experienced bowlers around the world and also someone who understands the conditions and adapts to them very well. You will see a different version of him in the future. He knows what it takes to succeed."
KKR bowling coach Bharat Arun is not worried about Starc's form