IPL 2018 Preview: Gautam Gambhir returns to his former 'home' as Kolkata Knight Riders welcome Delhi Daredevils

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  • Gambhir will be back at the Eden Gardens . Image - DD//Twitter.

    Two teams who have had an indifferent start to their IPL 2018 campaign will lock horns when Kolkata Knight Riders host the Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens on Monday.

    Both franchises have suffered two defeats each in three matches so far and will be desperate for the points on Monday.

    The match marks the return of Delhi Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir to his former stomping ground where he led the Kolkata franchise to two IPL titles.

    TALKING POINTS

    PRESSURE GROWING ON DINESH KARTHIK

    Filling in Gambhir’s boots at the Eden Gardens was never going to be an easy feat. That has been the case so far for Dinesh Karthik whose captaincy tenure started off in perfect fashion with a win against Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore.

    Since then, it has all gone downhill for Karthik and his men with losses against Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

    Apart from the results, it is his own failures with the bat after getting good starts that will rankle the India man. The passionate Eden Gardens faithful will demand the highest of standards from their skipper and Karthik will need to stand up and be counted soon.

    DAREDEVILS FINDING THEIR FEET

    It seemed all too familiar for Delhi Daredevils as they fell to defeats in their opening two matches in the 2018 edition. Having opted to go in with a highly revamped squad this season, the fortunes of the Daredevils appeared to be flailing until a last-ball victory against the defending champions Mumbai Indians.

    It took a really special innings of 91 (53) from England opener Jason Roy to get Delhi over the line in that clash and his arrival has given the outfit a much more complete look. Gambhir’s men will be desperate to take the momentum from that win into Monday at the Eden Gardens where a defeat for either side could prove to be damaging.

    PLAYERS IN FOCUS

    In Glenn Maxwell and Trent Boult, the Daredevils have two proven match-winners. Unfortunately for them, the Australian batsman and the Kiwi pacer have both failed to deliver in the three matches so far.

    The visitors will need these two to get firing quickly if they want to have a better IPL than last time.

    For the home side, India U19 Pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti has been ruled out for the season without bowling a ball.

    Their two other U19 World Cup winning stars in Shubman Gill and Shivam Mavi were given their IPL debuts in the defeat to Hyderabad. Both of them failed to create any impact and it will be interesting to note if Karthik continues to persist with them in a crucial fixture or decides to go with more experienced heads.

    LIKELY LINE-UPS

    Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (wk & C), Andre Russell, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla

    Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir (C), Jason Roy, Rishab Pant (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Shreyas Iyer, Vijay Shankar, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Shami, Trent Boult

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