IPL: Delhi Capitals seek the ‘right pitch’ against Knight Riders

New Delhi: As the sun beat down on the Ferozeshah Kotla ground with the temperature nudging 40 degrees Celsius, a smattering of Delhi Capitals fans watched the spin twins of Kolkata Knight Riders, Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, wheel away for close to an hour under the gaze of spin bowling coach Carl Crowe.

They tried to hit the markers on the good length and full length spots. Both missed often, but when Chakravarthy found the length, his carrom ball flattened middle-stump. Narine then disturbed the off-stump, and suddenly the tweakers seemed to discover their lengths. For these vital members of KKR’s bowling department still seeking their best this IPL season, it would have come as a confidence boost ahead of Tuesday’s clash against DC.

Deciphering a track that has played true and sluggish over the past fortnight can be tricky. The first game saw 205 scored, followed by a 188-run game that was decided by a Super Over.

On Sunday night, DC were ambushed on a tacky track, restricted by Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 162. It wasn’t going to test Virat Kohli, who anchored the chase with Krunal Pandya.

DC opted not to practice on Monday. Beating the struggling holders will be key for DC with the playoff race gathering steam. With just three wins from nine outings and seven points, KKR are just about staying afloat. A loss on Tuesday will dent their top-four chances.

The stakes for DC, on 12 points, isn’t that high yet, but with Mumbai Indians on a five-match winning run, Axar Patel’s side, after three reversals in the last five matches, will be keen to get a win.

KKR pacer Harshit Rana, who plays domestic cricket for Delhi, backed their spinners to come good. “We expect the pitch to have low bounce, like it usually is at Kotla. Last night, the slower ones were gripping and RCB bowlers used that to their advantage. We want to read the pitch well and use the conditions,” he said.

Deciphering the track will be high on DC’s agenda as well.

“Against KKR, I’m hoping it’s not the wicket that we got tonight,” DC mentor Kevin Pietersen said on Sunday night after the six-wicket loss. “We haven’t quite hit our perfect game yet, so I don’t really think it’s the wicket we should be discussing.”

Late in the evening, the match strip was heavily rolled, which should help hold the surface together and offer truer bounce.

“I don’t think pitches have spun a lot so far,” Rana said. “Despite that, our two main spinners have bowled well, particularly in the middle phase. Even in the last game (at Eden Gardens), they (Punjab Kings) could have scored big, but the spinners controlled the innings.”

PBKS scored 201 before rain forced the teams to share a point each. The combined figures for KKR spinners in that match read 8-0-74-1, though the economy (9.25) was less than the rate at which the innings went (10.05 runs/over).

Gambhir aura absent

Rana said KKR did miss the “thrill” and “aura” brought by former mentor Gautam Gambhir, who inspired them to the 2024 title. Gambhir left to take over as India head coach last July and has been replaced by Dwayne Bravo. Abhishek Nayar has returned to KKR as assistant coach after being relieved of his post as India batting coach. Chandrakant Pandit remains the head coach.

“The support staff is basically the same and even Nayar bhai is back. But there was a thrill factor that I miss a little –

speaking just for myself. Having said that, we are getting the kind of environment we want in the team,” Rana said.

“Having Nayar back is great because he is very smart at reading the game. The Indian core knows him well as he has developed them.”