Kolkata Knight Riders wary of resurgent DC, marauding McGurk

KOLKATA: A resurgent Delhi Capitals will look to exploit Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowling vulnerabilities and ascend to top-four in the table during the Indian Premier League match here on Monday.

With four wins in its last five matches, the Rishabh Pant-led side is gradually assembling its pieces and starting to look like a force to be reckoned with.

On the other hand, the Gautam Gambhir-mentored side has endured three defeats in its last five matches with its profligacy in bowling hurting it badly.

Signed up as Lungi Ngidi’s replacement, Aussie Jake Fraser-McGurk has proved to be its X-factor with his ferocious batting display at the top.

A natural power-hitter with superb hand-eye coordination, the 22-year-old has taken the IPL by storm scoring 247 runs in five matches at a strike-rate of 237.50.

His brutal treatment of the otherwise sensational Jasprit Bumrah stands as a testimony of his skill-level. McGurk slammed a slower ball from the Mumbai Indians pacer for a six and it was the first time a batter lofted Bumrah for a first-ball six.

The pacer conceded 18 runs in his first over, the most by him in this season in a single over as DC overcame MI by 10 runs on Saturday.

He made a 27-ball 84 against MI, and McGurk will relish the batting-friendly conditions at Eden Gardens where 523 runs, including a record 42 sixes, were scored between Punjab Kings and KKR.

The PBKS on that occasion had scaled down a world record 262.

But DC’s batting is not only about McGurk, the South African Tristian Stubbs also left everyone in awe with his astonishing power-hitting, smashing a 25-ball 48 not out against Mumbai.

Pant is also making rapid progress with every match as the DC top-five in Fraser-McGurk, Abhishek Porel, Shai Hope, Pant and Stubbs will be a cause of concern for KKR bowling.

The KKR replaced injured Mitchell Starc with Sri Lankan pacer Dushmantha Chameera but the latter gave away 16 runs per over in his debut for KKR and failed to inspire any confidence.

Barring spinner Sunil Narine, who returned with 1/24 from his four overs, none of the KKR bowlers made any impact.

IPL’s costliest buy Starc has been its biggest letdown and KKR would hope that the Aussie hits his stride soon after overcoming the thumb injury.

In bowling, Kuldeep Yadav who was sidelined under Dinesh Karthik while he was with KKR, will look to prove a point against the Kolkatans as he along with left-arm spinner Axar Patel has formed a formidable spin pair.

However, the home side has some positives to look up to. Narine’s sensational form with the bat -- 357 runs from eight matches with two fifties and one century -- has given a thrust to its batting up the order this season.