The Kolkata Knight Riders will want to tighten their grip on top spot with a win over the Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens in IPL 2017 Match 32 on Friday.
KKR have been top dogs in IPL 2017 along with the Mumbai Indians and they will move ever closer to sealing a spot in the playoffs with a win over DD.
Having already beaten the same opposition at their own backyard earlier this season, confidence will not be a problem for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
It hasn't been a problem all season really, with Gautam Gambhir leading from the front quite brilliantly and making sure every single player in the team knows their role and performs to their optimum standards.
Almost everything KKR have touched this season has turned to gold, with the Sunil Narine opening experiment being one of those things.
Narine will again come in to open with Gambhir and while he might be tested more than normal by the seriously quick DD pace bowlers, expect KKR to try and dominate this bowling attack from ball one.
The manner in which KKR chased down the 183 target against RPS in their last game was impressive. Yes, they had most things go their way in that match, particularly the toss, which meant RPS would have to bowl second when the dew came down heavily.
However, as KKR have shown against RCB and SRH, they are not just a chasing team, and DD will be well aware of that.
What the Delhi Daredevils are certainly not, though, is a bat second team.
Every time they have been asked to chase down a total they have struggled, with the inexperience of their batting lineup leading to poor decisions in the middle.
While the Eden Gardens is usually a chasing ground, you feel if DD win the toss, they will choose to bat first, because they seem to be a lot more comfortable defending a total.
Understandable, when you have bowlers of the calibre of Zaheer Khan, Pat Cummins, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada and Amit Mishra.
Having played just six games so far this season – all but one of the other seven teams have played eight or more – the Delhi Daredevils know they have the perfect opportunity to go on a winning run and make one of those top four spots their own.
"We need some winning momentum," Zaheer told reporters on Thursday. "In the next nine days, we are playing five matches. It is a very important phase.
"If we can string together some wins in this phase, things will change. It's very important that we look at this phase as nine days. Next nine days will define the season for us."
When and where to watch live
KKR vs DD is set to begin at 4pm IST. TV and live streaming information can be found below.
India: TV: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD, Sony Max. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
Middle East: TV: OSN Sports Cricket HD. Live Streaming: OSN Play.
International: Live Streaming: Cricketgateway.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 3. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.
USA: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Online.
South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: TV: SuperSport Two. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.
