Delhi Daredevils looking to bounce back against Knight Riders
Durban, May 4
Delhi Daredevils will be hoping to bounce back in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when they face bottom placed Kolkata Knight Riders for the first time at the Kingsmead here Tuesday.
A defeat against Chennai Super Kings in their last match pushed Daredevils from the second place to the third spot in the league while Knight Riders are languishing at the bottom of the table after their fourth straight loss Sunday.
Knight Riders have lost six of the eight matches they have played in the league and things are not going their way. If their batting has come good in one match, their bowling and fielding have let them down.
Against Kings XI Punjab, Knight Riders, with some solid batting, put themselves in a position to win the match but four dropped catches cost them the match.
"The pitch was on the slower side. It was a fine total. (Brad) Hodge batted brilliantly and his innings gave us a chance. We were accurate while bowling and had we fielded well it could have been different. The score was enough and defendable. Unfortunately, we put down some chances," said Knight Riders skipper Brendon McCullum.
Against a formidable Daredevils, Knight Riders will be hoping for some luck besides an all round performance to find a win.
It will also be high time for the skipper to come out with big score. McCullum has failed as a batsman and painstakingly batted against Kings XI for his 19 from 31 balls.
Knight Riders will also be missing their star performer Chris Gayle. But the consistent performance of Brad Hodge will give confidence to his team mates. Hodge has scored consecutive half centuries in the last two matches and will be hoping to continue his form against the Daredevils solid bowling attack.
With some consistent performance, Daredevils have made themselves one of the worthy contenders for the title. Though they will be without their skipper Virender Sehwag, the batting line-up has enough firepower to make a mockery of the Knight Riders bowling.
