Two teams desperate for a win in IPL 2014 lock horns as the Delhi Daredevils entertain the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday.
Where to Watch Live:
Watch the match Highlights HERE
Get the report HERE
The game is scheduled for a 4 pm IST (11.30 am BST, 6.30 am ET) start with live coverage on Sony Six (English) and Sony Max (Hindi) in India. The game can also be watched via live streaming online HERE or HERE. Viewers around the world can live stream the T20 action HERE or HERE. Watch the game in the US through Willow TV or via the live streaming optionHERE, while Canada viewers can watch the games on Sportsnet or HERE.
Viewers in the Middle East can watch the action on OSN with the live streaming option HERE, while New Zealand viewers can do the same via Sky NZ or HERE or via the above rest of the world options. Viewers in the UK can catch the match on ITV, while Pakistan viewers can do the same on Geo Super, with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh audience able to watch the game on TV on Masaranga TV and Carlton Sports Network respectively.
Both teams have struggled quite a bit this season, winning just two of their seven matches respectively. With only seven games each remaining, both sides will need to win at least six to have a chance of making the Playoffs.
So, another blemish in the record so soon will be tough to swallow, leaving this a relative do-or-die match at such an early stage of IPL 2014.
DD lost to the Chennai Super Kings in a high-scoring encounter on Monday, with CSK chasing down a target of 179 with four balls to spare.
The batting came to the fore for the Daredevils in that particular match at the Kotla, but it is the bowling that remains a concern with the likes of Mohammed Shami and Jaidev Unadkat failing to impress so far in this tournament.
"We thought the rain caused us to lose a bit of momentum, we are getting so close but it's just frustrating we can't win these tight games," DD captain Kevin Pietersen said. "I can't fault the efforts of any of my boys.
"They started really well, we tied them up nicely in the middle overs but we were not quite good enough. We just need to keep trying to get better."
While Shahbaz Nadeem is a good bowler in the T20 format, DD do not have a real wicket-taking spinner, so important in this format as Pravin Tambe showed for the Rajasthan Royals a couple of days ago.
KKR will still be smarting from that unbelievable collapse against the Royals on Monday, where they lost six wickets for just two runs, with Tambe grabbing a hat-trick. From a position of real strength, the Knight Riders gifted the game away, collapsing from 121 for no loss to 123 for six.
Chasing 171, there was no way back from there as RR stole a victory to put KKR under some extreme pressure. "It's a hard pill to swallow, I have not seen this kind of cricket before," KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir said after that stunning loss in Ahmedabad. "We will move on from this and will look to turn things around.
"We really need to work on our bowling, apart from [Sunil] Narine and Shakib [Al Hasan] no one is really looking to take responsibility at the death."
There are still a couple of games to go for the Knight Riders before they return back to their fortress Eden Gardens, and Gambhir and co. cannot really afford another away loss, if they are to stay in contention.
The form of Pietersen is key for the Daredevils; if the right-hander can fire with the bat, then they could look at a really big score again, with the likes of JP Duminy and Dinesh Karthik to play around him, while Quinton De Kock has looked really good.
For KKR, something needs to change, as the batting has been horrible, with all the willow-wielders bereft of confidence. Losing a game when you are 121 for no loss is unacceptable, and Gambhir would have certainly made that clear in the dressing room.
Bringing back fast bowler Morne Morkel, to add a bit of pace to the attack, like they should have in Ahmedabad, might be a good idea as well, with the South African, no doubt, keen to make an impression against his former side.
When the two sides met earlier this season, DD pulled off an impressive victory over KKR in Dubai, with Duminy coming to the fore to help chase down a score in excess of 160. If the Daredevils complete a double of the Knight Riders for this season, then it could just be the lift they need to go on a run of wins, while KKR, no doubt, will know one more defeat and it could be curtains for their campaign, in terms of making the playoffs, this year.
