Eoin Morgan-led KKR will be eager to maintain the winning run, with DC looking to qualify for a second consecutive IPL final.
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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Eoin Morgan has won the toss and opted to field in Qualifier 2 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The Kolkata-based franchise are battling it out against Delhi Capitals (DC), having recorded a triumph against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Eliminator. However, KKR do not enjoy the services of Windies all-rounder Andre Russell, which might come back to haunt them. DC have included all-rounder Marcus Stoinis for the clash, in place of Tom Curran.
Morgan stated that his decision to bowl was influenced by past success enjoyed using the same tactic, in previous games at Sharjah.
“We are going to bowl first. We have played a few games here at Sharjah, so far it’s worked. There might be dew factor later on. We have kept the same side. We are playing some good cricket at the moment, we are confident as a side. Guys know their roles inside out, so hoping to come here today and produce something close to that. Playing DC will be a good test. The mindset that we have had throughout the second phase has been spot-on, guys have looked to play aggressive, smart cricket, which is great. We really enjoyed playing here and hopefully it has put some smiles on people’s faces as well,” said the KKR skipper as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Pant admitted that he would have opted to field as well.
“We would have bowled first. It’s fine, we can’t be thinking about the toss too much, so let’s play some good cricket today. There’s nothing we wanted to change from the last game, just one or two overs here and there would have done us the job. We needed an extra batsman in these kind of tracks, so Stoinis comes in. Tom Curran is out. We are in a great frame of mind, always exciting to play together, always having lot of fun, looking to have fun during the match also,” stated the Indian cricketer.
DC coach Ricky Ponting expressed a desire to simply focus on getting the basics right, while at the same time looking to play some good cricket.
“It’s just about getting the basics right, we have played some really good cricket throughout the tournament, obviously the last couple of results haven’t gone the way we would have wanted, but even in those games, the level of cricket we played was good enough to win. Small decisions here or there, a couple of bad shots or bad balls cost us games, but if we continue to think tactically, we’ll be very competitive once again. I got a bit angry last game and let the boys know that. I have played my cricket emotionally, put my heart and sleeve into it and the same goes towards my coaching, but you can’t do a lot in the dug-out, unlike when you’re in the middle and can still try and change the outcome of the game. In that way, coaching is completely different from being a player,” he said.
“All teams have different characters, the great thing about our team is that we have got a good mix of youth and experience, which holds up in big tournaments. I want the boys to be playing their best cricket at the back end of a tournament and hopefully it’ll be today. They (KKR) are very disciplined, have used their spinners very well, this wicket has been the slowest and the lowest across all venues, so that makes a big part of the game. But we have two world-class spinners as well, it could come down to who plays spin the best. It’s a challenge to play at different venues and the boys are up for it. We have been great mates (on Brendon McCullum), we know each other for a long time, and share good memories on and off the field. The team that plays the best cricket today will obviously win,” added Ponting.
Lineups:
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, Anrich Nortje.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy.
