Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel(w), Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Dushmantha Chameera, Mukesh Kumar

Rahane: We have one change, Anukul Roy comes in.

Axar Patel: We will field first, becomes easier to bat in the second innings because of the dew. We are playing with the same XI. I think it's a slow wicket, doesn't look dry.

Delhi Capitals have won the toss and have opted to field

Right then, it's toss time..

Pitch and Conditions: "It feels nice and wonderful climatically at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. It is not too hot, it is not too cool. We stand on pitch number 5, the Super Over was on this surface, only one in the tournament where 188 played 188. It is a pretty small ground - away to my right 63 meters, not too much of a difference on the other side just 1 (62) meter and 67 down the ground. The grass on the outfield is very very well cut. This looks like a slightly better surface than the previous one (vs RCB). This surface looks more compact, it has a bit of a sheen on it and therefore I think the wicket will hold itself little bit more. I think they wanted to play RCB and MI on a slower surface, there was little bit more for the spinners and generally pace off the ball. Here against KKR they have been specific to play on a slightly better surface which will not bring in the likes of Narine and Chakravarthy. I think we won't be far off from that 188 total, decent surface here. It is not a belter by any means but if you compare it to the other pitch then we should get northwards of 163." - inform Ian Bishop and Nick Knight.

Update from Gokul: Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora marked their run-ups. Rana bruised his left elbow in the last game, landing on the practice pitch trying to take a catch, and has a bandage around it. Rana then warms up by bowling to DC skipper Axar Patel.

Faf du Plessis: This IPL hasn't been like the ones (in terms of fitness) I have had before. There have been a couple of niggles, but happy to be back on the park, today is a really big game for us. We haven't had back-to-back losses this season, so we need to get that 'W' back today. You want to have that established opening combination at the top, but for various reasons we have had quite a lot of openers this season. Hopefully we can now start finding consistency with our roles, especially in the next 3-4 games leading in those knockouts. The nice thing is that everyone has performed at different stages, that's also a blessing in disguise when it comes to our batting unit. At the moment we are not relying on one person. The previous game we played here against RCB, the wicket was very slow and low, especially in that first innings. There was some dew at the backend. That wicket would have been the perfect wicket for KKR, hopefully we get a wicket that's not as same as the previous one. The guys persuaded me to be on the field, hopefully you will see me the next game at long-off.

"Greetings from Arun Jaitley Stadium! Hemang Badani and Kevin Pietersen are in early and are having a close look at the pitch. It is pitch No. 5 - the centre wicket - with a bit of grass," informs our correspondent Gokul Gopal.

18:30 Local Time, 13:00 GMT, 18:30 IST: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 48th clash of IPL 2024 folks! Tonight, the Delhi Capitals will lock horns with defending champions - Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Feroz Shah Kotla. The Knight Riders have looked like a pale shadow of its previous season. Without Shreyas Iyer, Mitchell Starc and Phil Salt, KKR have been exposed and their new recruits haven’t been able to replicate what KKR’s former players did the previous season. Their bowlers looked good at the start of IPL 2025, but even they have lost steam as the tournament has progressed. RR’s Young batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi played a spectacular knock last night and gave Rajasthan Royals fan something to cheer about. Will the KKR players manage to entertain their fans tonight and do something similar? Only time will tell. With the quality of cricket they have played so far in the tournament, the Knight Riders don’t deserve to qualify for the playoffs, but they should at least play wit

Preview by Gokul Gopal

After starting the tournament with four successive wins, Delhi Capitals have blown hot and cold. They have suffered three losses in their last five matches, and it could have been four, if not for some Mitchell Starc magic in a Super Over finish against Rajasthan Royals. Their homecoming hasn't been ideal either, with two defeats in three matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Yet, despite their latest loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, DC remain in the top half of the points table and are still in contention for a top-two finish. The same, however, cannot be said for their opponents on Tuesday.

Kolkata Knight Riders had an inconsistent start to their campaign, winning three and losing three. Thanks to some big-margin victories, though, their net run rate stayed positive, and just three matches ago, they were in a position to even top the table after bowling Punjab Kings out for 111. But the slide began in that very game, when they were bundled out for 95. Since then, they've lost to Gujarat Titans and endured a no-result at home due to rain. With only a solitary win in five attempts at Eden Gardens and just seven points from nine matches, the Knight Riders will be hoping for a turnaround away from home - starting with the DC clash, the first of their three remaining away games.

Having fallen short in the chase of 206 against Mumbai Indians at home, DC lost to GT after posting in excess of 200 while they weren't able to defend 162 against RCB despite showing some fight early on with the ball. Even in the game against RR, DC just about managed to force the affair into a Super Over after getting a first-innings total of 188. The batters have all got starts but haven't been able to convert them into a game-changing contribution, and Axar Patel and Co. will be eager to make amends quickly.

For KKR, the bulk of their troubles have stemmed from batting struggles, particularly in their last two defeats. Their issues at the top have been glaring - they remain the only team without a fifty-plus opening stand this season, with just 159 runs coming from their first-wicket partnerships across nine innings. The middle order hasn't fared much better in recent games, with their Nos 4-8 having the worst average (20.00) among all teams, compounding KKR's problems. With six teams well ahead of them in the standings, they need to find solutions quickly, as time is fast running out.

When: DC vs KKR - Tuesday, April 29 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

What to expect: The surface for the previous game was on the drier side, offering more assistance to the spinners, particularly in the first innings. With dew also likely to play a role, teams would prefer to chase here, while a total in the 190-200 range should be considered a strong one to defend.

Head to head: KKR have a 18-15 lead over DC in contests between these two sides. But since 2022, DC have an upper hand, having won three out of five. At the Arun Jaitley stadium it's an even 5-5 but KKR last win against DC here came in 2017, with three defeats since that, including a Super Over finish in 2019.

Team watch

Delhi Capitals

Injury/unavailability: Faf du Plessis returned for the last game after missing a few matches due to a groin injury. He looked a bit rusty during his 26-ball stay for only 22 runs but DC are likely to persist with him and retain the same combination.

Tactics & matchups: While most of the batters in the current DC line-up do not have favourable match-ups against the KKR spin duo of Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine, KL Rahul has fared slightly better. Rahul has scored 114 runs off 85 balls against Narine, and despite being dismissed twice, he averages 57.00 with a strike rate of 134.12 against him. Rahul has been slower against Varun, with 45 runs off 46 balls, with one dismissal.

Meanwhile, the DC spinners could prove handy going against Ajinkya Rahane, who has struggled a bit against spin this season. He has 81 runs in 100 balls against spin, averaging 20.00 with a strike rate of 123.46 and a boundary percentage of 12.3. Dushmantha Chameera could also prove useful against Andre Russell, with the Sri Lankan pacer having dismissed him thrice in 17 balls in T20 cricket.

Probable XII: Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh Sharma

Kolkata Knight Riders

Injury/unavailability: Harshit Rana appeared in a lot of pain, hurting his elbow after diving to catch a ball next to the practice pitches in the previous game against PBKS, and did not bowl after that. But the pacer, who attended the press conference on the eve of the match with a bandage to his elbow, said he was fit and good to go. Meanwhile, considering the surface might aid spin, Moeen Ali is likely to slot in for Rovman Powell while KKR might opt for an extra batting option like Ramandeep Singh or Manish Pandey.

Tactics & matchups: While the rest of the players were either playing football or involved in other drills, Russell was the first to hit the nets as he faced a variety of throwdowns, including a left-armer, and was busy dispatching them across the fence. Although he hasn't been at his best this season, Russell will be a vital cog for KKR against Starc. The West Indian hasn't been dismissed yet by the left-arm pacer in all T20s and has scored 55 runs off 23 balls at a strike rate of 239.13.

Meanwhile, Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine will be the key bowlers for KKR, with the two spinners having favourable match-ups against a majority of the opposition batters. Axar Patel has been dismissed twice by Varun and has scored only 7 off 23, while he has been dismissed thrice by Narine for 35 runs off 29 balls, Faf du Plessis and Tristan Stubbs have been dismissed twice each by Varun.

Probable XII: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh/Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Moeen Ali, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy

Did you know?

- DC have used as many as five players in the opening position this season - the most for any team - and their opening partnership average of 24.22 is the third lowest among all teams, just above CSK and KKR

- Mitchell Starc picked up nine wickets in his first three IPL 2025 matches, at an average of 11.56 and an economy of 8.91. But in his last six outings, has has bagged only three wickets, averaging 109.50, with an economy of 10.77, and has gone wicketless in the powerplay

- Ajinkya Rahane has scored 205 runs in four innings, with an average of 51.25 and a strike rate of 158.91 at Eden Gardens in this edition. However, in away matches, he has only 66 runs in four innings, averaging 22 with a strike rate of 117.85.

What they said:

"We haven't quite hit our perfect game yet as a team so I don't really think it's the wicket that we should be discussing. I think it's more, we haven't really played that complete game. For us to be sitting where we're sitting with 12 points knowing that we actually haven't really hit our straps in all departments is a good thing. We haven't played our perfect match yet and I do believe that it's coming" - Kevin Pietersen, mentor of Delhi Capitals.

Squads:

Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anrich Nortje, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Luvnith Sisodia, Quinton de Kock, Spencer Johnson, Mayank Markande, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh

Delhi Capitals Squad: Abishek Porel, Faf du Plessis, Karun Nair, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira, Darshan Nalkande, T Natarajan, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Manvanth Kumar L