Shakib Al Hasan, KKR, Dinesh Karthik, Gujarat Lions, IPL
Shakib Al Hasan will be desperate for a gameIANS

Two consecutive wins each, and that too pretty easy ones, the Delhi Daredevils and the Kolkata Knight Riders will want to keep the same balance to their teams when these two sides clash at the Feroz Shah Kotla in IPL 2017.

With the first weekday throwing up a double header in the Indian Premier League, DD and KKR will look to kick away the Monday blues by putting on a show in IPL 2017.

Both these teams have been quite impressive so far, with KKR winning three of their four matches in IPL 2017, while the Delhi Daredevils have won two in a row, after losing their first game of the season.

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When you have momentum on your side, courtesy the victories, changing the playing XI too much can end up causing you problems, and that will be the thinking for both KKR and the Delhi Daredevils, even if the two teams will be playing their second match in 48 hours.

The Daredevils have done really well in backing their young batsmen to do the business, while packing their bowling lineup with experience.

Both the DD wins so far have come from defending totals, with Zaheer Khan, on a slow track at the Kotla, deciding to bat first after winning the toss in the win against the Kings XI Punjab on Saturday.

With Shreyas Iyer coming back into the playing XI, after missing the first couple of games through illness, the batting lineup looks that little bit stronger.

Sam Billings and Sanju Samson will be tasked with giving DD a strong start with the bat again, before the likes of Karun Nair, Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Corey Anderson and Chris Morris, especially the final three, go slam-bang with the bat.

Zaheer Khan, Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2017, KXIP, KKR
Zaheer Khan has marshalled his Delhi Daredevils troops really well in IPL 2017IANS

What the Delhi Daredevils batting also has going for them is the fact that, with such a strong bowling lineup at their disposal, they know, if they even get to a score of around par, they will have a pretty good chance of winning.

Zaheer Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Chris Morris, Pat Cummins, Amit Mishra and Corey Anderson were all impressive with the ball in the last game, and while KKR will pose a more difficult challenge, they will back themselves to restrict the batsmen again.

There is no need for DD to change anything in their lineup at the moment, which would mean the likes of Mohammed Shami, Jayant Yadav and Kagiso Rabada having to wait a little while longer to play their first games in IPL 2017.

Change is not needed for KKR either, apart from maybe one, with Shakib Al Hasan in contention for a place in the playing XI.

Colin de Grandhomme did not bowl in KKR's win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and couldn't do much with the bat either. If the pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla is slow again, it would make sense to bring Shakib in for De Grandhomme.

Confirmed playing XI:

Delhi Daredevils: Sam Billings, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Angelo Mathews, Chris Morris, Pat Cummins, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Zaheer Khan.

 

KKR: Sunil Narine, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Colin de Grandhomme, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Woakes, Kuldeep Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Umesh Yadav.