Can DC break their Delhi jinx and bounce back?

DC’s Wobble at Home

Delhi Capitals (DC), led by first-time captain Axar Patel, started IPL 2025 on a high, winning their first four matches. But ever since they returned to their home ground at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, their form has dipped. Out of three home games, they've lost two and only won one — and that too in a Super Over thriller.

Against Mumbai Indians, they fumbled a comfortable chase of 206 after a middle-order collapse. Against Rajasthan Royals, they nearly lost again before Starc forced a Super Over. In the latest match versus Royal Challengers Bengaluru, DC failed to capitalise on early breakthroughs with the ball.

Star Players Out of Form

DC’s struggles have also been due to the sudden dip in form of some key names.
KL Rahul looked in fine touch initially, scoring 185 runs in his first three games at a strike rate of nearly 170. But since playing in Delhi, his numbers have dropped — just 179 runs in five innings with a slower strike rate of 127.85.

Spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who had 8 wickets in the first four games with tight economy, has only picked up 4 wickets in the next five, with his strike rate and economy both taking a hit. Star pacer Mitchell Starc has also lost momentum, picking just 2 wickets in his last five games after a fiery start.

Time to Regroup Before Playoff Push

Despite recent setbacks, DC still sit in the top half of the points table. However, with the playoffs nearing, they need to find rhythm again and make home advantage count. Another loss could dent their campaign as teams begin to tighten their grip on playoff spots.

Recent Form Guide

• Delhi Capitals: L W L W L
   
• Kolkata Knight Riders: L L W L W
   

Probable Line-ups

Delhi Capitals (likely XII):
Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh/Mohit Sharma

Kolkata Knight Riders (likely XII):
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Chetan Sakariya

Players to Watch

Faf du Plessis (DC):
With Jake Fraser-McGurk out of form, the spotlight is now on Faf to deliver at the top. After missing a few games due to injury, he struggled on his return. Apart from a 50 against SRH, he hasn’t made any significant impact this season.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (KKR):
Now in his third season, Gurbaz gets a shot at opening for KKR in place of Quinton de Kock. The team hopes he can click with Sunil Narine and fix their weak opening stands. But so far, he has scored just 1 run in each of the two matches he’s played.

Pitch and Match Conditions

The match will be played on pitch No. 5 — a central wicket with equal boundaries on both sides, giving no edge to batters. DC’s mentor Kevin Pietersen mentioned the pitch was kept slow in the last game to restrict the opposition, but this time, they’ll be hoping for a better surface for batting.

Did You Know?

• Kuldeep Yadav has dismissed Sunil Narine twice in just three deliveries.
   
• Sunil Narine has 24 wickets against DC — only Ashwin, Bumrah, and Chawla have more (27 each).
   
• KKR (19.87) and DC (24.22) have some of the lowest average opening stands this season, only behind CSK (19.77).