We have to admit—our predictions have been pretty inaccurate lately. Whenever we back the weaker side, they lose, and whenever we go with the stronger team, the underdogs somehow pull off an upset. But jokes apart, Lucknow Super Giants fully deserved this win. It was a brilliant performance and a much-needed comeback from the entire side.
The batting was top-notch, led by a magnificent century from Mitchell Marsh. He was well supported by Nicholas Pooran, who played a valuable knock of 38 off 23 balls. And then, right at the end, we finally got to see the old Rishabh Pant again. He completely dismantled the RCB bowling attack, playing outrageous shots all around the ground—from powerful pulls to an unbelievable switch-hit that sailed over third man for six, almost toying with the field placement. Pant smashed a fiery 32 off just 10 balls at a strike rate of 320.
Coming to the bowling, LSG got off to a dream start. Mohammed Shami removed Jacob Bethell on the penultimate ball of the very first over, and then Prince Yadav produced what could genuinely be considered one of the deliveries of the season to dismiss Virat Kohli for a duck.
After that came the usual RCB middle-order counterattack, with captain Rajat Patidar and DDP rebuilding the innings before Tim David dragged them closer to the target. But the LSG bowlers kept applying pressure and picked up wickets at crucial moments to stay ahead in the game.
And finally came redemption for Digvesh Rathi. After a difficult start to his spell, he defended 20 runs in the final over against power-hitters like Romario Shepherd and Krunal Pandya, sealing a memorable 9-run victory for LSG.
A massive win for Rishabh Pant’s men—and a thoroughly deserved one too.
We’re seeing a lot of must-win clashes in this Tata IPL season, and tonight brings yet another one as Delhi Capitals host Kolkata Knight Riders in what could be one of the most important matches of their campaigns.
At this stage, every remaining game is crucial for both teams. From here on, they don’t just need wins—they need convincing wins. As entertaining as thrillers are for fans, close victories won’t help much when both sides are struggling with negative net run rates.
This match could either give one of these teams a lifeline in the playoff race—or push them to the brink of elimination. With pressure rising and very little room for error left, expect both teams to come out with absolute desperation tonight.
Expected Playing 11:
KKR:
- Ajinkhya Rahane (C)
- Tim Siefert (WK)
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi
- Cameron Green
- Rinku Singh
- Anukul Roy
- Manish Pandey
- Rovman Powell
- Sunil Narine
- Varun Chakravarthy
- Kartik Tyagi
Impact Player- Vaibhav Arora
DC:
- KL Rahul (WK)
- Pathum Nissanka
- Nitish Rana
- Karun Nair
- Tristian Stubbs
- Ashutosh Sharma
- Sameer Rizvi
- Axar Patel (C)
- Mitchell Starc
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Lungi Ngidi
Impact Player- T. Natarajan
Head to Head:
| Matches- | 35 |
| DC Won- | 15 |
| KKR Won- | 19 |
| No Result- | 1 |
Pitch and Weather Conditions:
The pitch to be used for Friday will host the first evening game of this tournament. Two day matches have been played here. On the first occasion, DC chased down 163 against MI and on the second occasion, PBKS chased 265. The team winning the toss might still prefer chasing for a 7.30pm game. Some parts of north India have been witnessing showers but the forecast for Delhi is clear for Friday, with the temperature expected to remain in the early 30s during the game, which will make it extremely hot.
-ESPN CricInfo
Prediction:
We’re backing Kolkata Knight Riders to ride over Delhi Capitals tonight at the Kotla. Yes, that may sound surprising considering DC are above KKR on the points table, but if you compare the way the two teams have played recently, KKR look like the more settled side.
KKR had an abysmal start to the season, losing five of their first six matches, while the one game they didn’t lose ended in a no result. But over the last few games, things have completely changed. They’ve won three matches on the trot, finally found momentum, discovered the right combination, and most importantly, started playing consistent cricket. Winning three games in a row in a tournament as unpredictable as the IPL says a lot about a team’s confidence and rhythm.
DC, on the other hand, have been one of the most inconsistent teams this season. Even if you put consistency aside, KKR simply come into this clash with far more momentum and much better form overall. As a unit, they’ve looked sharper, more confident, and more organised than Delhi in recent matches—and that gives them the edge heading into tonight’s game.
If you want to watch DC VS KKR at the Kotla in a must win game for both teams, then tune into JioHotstar at 7:30 PM IST.
Until next time!
Thank you.
SlogVlog 