Both the Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders come into this tie with patchy form at best. The sides square off at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi this afternoon. Jonhenry Wilson previews.
IPL 2025 – Capitals v Knight Riders
Tuesday 29 April – 16:00
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
The defending champions, KKR, are struggling for form at the moment with just a single win from their last five outings. They head into Tuesday’s encounter in seventh place on the table.
The Delhi Capitals have been struggling for consistency with every win seemingly followed by a loss. Despite this they are currently two points off the top of the table with six wins from nine games. A big win on Tuesday could see DC to the top of the table.
KKR won both two previous encounters between these sides – both meetings were in 2024, and both were by a considerable margin (seven wickets and 106 runs).
The Capital’s Vipraj Nigam may not be top of the run scorers list, but he is third on the list of top strike rates in the tournament, hitting at 206.25 from his five innings.
Kuldeep Yadav of DC and KKR’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy are second and third on the list of best bowling economy rates in 2025. They are conceding at 6.56 and 6.86 respectively, from nine games each. The only bowler ahead of them in Proteas’ allrounder Corbin Bosch who has played just a single game.
To Win Match
DC 81/100 | Tie 25/1 | KKR 21/20
Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Formerly known as Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium this is the primary home of the Delhi Capitals and Tuesday will be their fourth game at the venue this season after their first two home games were played at ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
Last season the venue was a fortress for the Capitals as they only lost one game in five there. They lost their first outing in Delhi this year, however, as Mumbai Indians snuck home. But they won their second game here against the Rajasthan Royals – triumphing via a super over. On Sunday they were comfortably beaten by RCB, meaning they have yet to win at home inside 20 overs this season.
The stadium slightly favours the chasing teams, but the advantage is marginal with 44 wins for the team batting first and 46 for the team batting second. There has also been a tie and a no result at the venue.
The highest individual score made at the ground came back in 2012 when the home side were the Delhi Daredevils – West Indian legend Chris Gayle smashed a fantastic, undefeated 128 for RCB.
The highest team score made here was 266/7 by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2024.
Weather
It’s another hot day in Delhi on Tuesday with the temperature set to soar towards 40 degrees. It will have eased off somewhat by the time the game begins but it will still be in the 30s. Humidity will be around 35% which means it will be sweaty business out on the middle. The weather ruined things for KKR last time out, but there is no hint of rain on Tuesday.
Form (most recent game first):
- Delhi Capitals: L, W, L, W, L.
- Kolkata Knight Riders: NR, L, L, W, L.
Key players
Delhi Capitals, Faf du Plessis:
The Capital’s vice-captain missed a number of games through injury, but he returned on Sunday for the loss against RCB. It wasn’t vintage Faf at the top of the order as he made 22 from 26 balls, but the important thing is that he is back. The Capitals have tried a number of different opening combinations in his absence, but Faf is key at the top of the order. Expect him to be considerably more fluent on Tuesday than he was on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders, Ajinkya Rahane:
The KKR skipper has been a pillar of consistency for his team this season. While he may not have shot the lights out just yet, he is averaging 49.3 runs per innings from the last five games. The Knight Riders have struggled for good starts and consistency but in Rahane they have found a reliable performer at number three. He is the KKR banker and a good bet to be top scorer on Tuesday.
Verdict: Delhi Capitals 81/100
They have had a poor run of form at home, but they are not playing badly. While the Capitals have struggled against some of the other top teams, they have done well despatching the strugglers and at the moment KKR fall into the struggler category. Expect Axar Patel’s team to do the business in front of their home crowd on Tuesday.
