Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders [What to watch out for in IPL 2025]
In this incredible Indian T20 Premier League, ambitious Delhi will face Kolkata. In the IPL, Delhi has a plethora of outstanding young players in its squad. The tournament has been a roller coaster ride for them. In 2019, Delhi's fortunes improved dramatically as a result of the name change. Despite reaching the finals in the 2020 season, they faced defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets. While their recent seasons (2023 and 2024) have seen them struggle, with finishes in the lower half of the points table, there's optimism for a strong comeback in the upcoming 2025 season.
On the other hand, the Kolkata Knight Riders, champions in 2012, 2014 and 2023, also made it to the finals in 2021 but fell short against the Chennai Super Kings by 27 runs. Like Delhi, they too have endured challenging seasons, but in the IPL 2024, KKR defeated SRH and won the IPL by 8 wickets. Nevertheless, their potential for a remarkable comeback is undeniable, and it must always serve as an inspiration to them if they ever find themselves in a bind.
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Past year's performance of Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders
The iconic Kolkata-Delhi IPL rivalry started way back in 2008. Both teams have been neck and neck in the competition. 2024 was amongst the most significant seasons for the Delhi-Kolkata rivalry. In both encounters, Kolkata emerged victorious, defeating Delhi by 106 runs and 7 wickets, respectively. In their first match, KKR set a target of 272 runs for DC, losing 7 wickets in their 20 overs. Sunil Narine led the KKR batting with 85 runs, supported by Angkrish Raghuvanshi's 54 runs. DC's chase was spearheaded by Rishabh Pant's 55 runs, but his dismissal, caught by Shreyas Iyer, proved crucial.
The second match saw a dominant KKR victory by 7 wickets. Phil Salt's 68 runs were instrumental in securing KKR's win. It will be interesting to see how both teams perform when they face each other once again in the upcoming 2025 season.
IPL DC vs KKR head-to-head performance till 2024
If we look at DC vs KKR score, Kolkata Knight Riders have a slight edge over Delhi Capitals. Both teams have met in a total of 34 games in the tournament's history, with the Delhi Capitals winning 15 and the Kolkata Knight Riders winning 18. Rain caused one of the confrontations to be cancelled.
When it comes to the batting numbers of the DC vs KKR T20 games, Shreyas Iyer leads the list with 552 runs under his belt, followed by David Warner (456), Prithvi Shaw (415), Andre Russell (321) and Pant (303)). As far as the bowling department goes, Umesh Yadav stands at the top with 23 wickets in hand, followed by Sunil Narine (22 wickets) and Kuldeep Yadav (15 wickets).
Retained players in each team
Let’s look at the players the Delhi Capitals retained for the 2025 IPL season.
Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel
Let’s look at the players the Kolkata Knight Riders retained for the 2025 IPL season.
Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh
Top retained batters and their performance in head-to-head matches till 2024
Delhi Capitals:
Axar Patel
One of the best DC players, Axar Patel will be a hit for the DC team as he has discord 967 runs with an average of 23.58 and a strike rate of 134.11 in the IPL.
Tristan Stubbs
Retained by Delhi Capitals for his stellar performance in the IPL. Stubbs scored 378 runs with an average of 54 and his highest was 71*.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Andre Russell
With a strike rate of 175.79 in IPL, Andre Russell would be a big threat to the Delhi bowlers.
Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine has already captured the attention of Indian fans because of his stellar IPL performances in the past. His performance against DC in the IPL 2024 was notably one of the best as he scored 85 runs in the match. Narine overall runs in the IPL is 1534, and he has an average of 17.04. With such a track record, he is undoubtedly a player to watch out for in the upcoming season.
Venkatesh Iyer
Although Venkatesh Iyer faced a setback in the previous season against Delhi Capitals and got out on just the second ball, he showcased extraordinary performances in other matches. Throughout IPL, he scored 1326 runs with an average of 31.57 and strike rate of 137.12.
Top retained bowlers and their performance in head-to-head matches till 2024
Kolkata Knight Riders
Sunil Narine
The small yet lethal Sunil Narine is amongst KKR's most experienced campaigners. He has been the go-to man for the Kolkata captain when in search of a wicket. Narine holds 180 wickets under his belt in the IPL.
Andre Russell
Andre Russell holds 114 wickets with a brilliant Economy rate of 9.30 in the IPL.
Delhi Capitals:
Axar Patel
The Indian all-rounder has impressed all with his effective bowling in IPL. In the IPL, Axar took 62 wickets with an incredible economy rate of 7.06
Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav has been one of the best finds of the season for Delhi. He has pulled the team out of several tricky situations. Through the IPL, he took 47 wickets with an economy rate of 8.13.
Final Thoughts
Altogether, it's a no brainer that when these two teams encounter each other in 2025, it's going to be a cracker of a competition for fantasy cricket players. Delhi Capitals will be aiming for their first IPL crown, while the Kolkata Knight Riders will look to bag their fourth trophy. In case you are not able to watch the match, you can check dc vs kkr live score on Cricbuzz.
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