Explosive Daredevils to test Knight Riders
ESPNcricinfo previews the Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders match at the Champions League T20
Match facts
October 13, 2012Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)
Big Picture
The first match for the two IPL teams will not only be a tug of war for the first points or an opportunity to work-out their strategies for the tournament; the focus will also be on Delhi Daredevils' Kevin Pietersen, who is making a return to the field of play after his brief stint as a TV commentator.Watch out for...
Daredevils' top order features three of the game's fiercest hitters - Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Pietersen - and that spells entertainment for the crowd. Pietersen, in his debut season for Daredevils, injected an aura into the team with his explosive batting. He played in less than half of the team's matches - eight - but was the third highest run-getter for the team with 305 runs at an average of 61. The highlights of his stay were the unbeaten 103 and the 20 sixes he racked up in the tournament. Warner came in after Pietersen left and added another century to his T20 tally, while Sehwag was at his consistent best - scoring five half-centuries in a row - on his way to amass 495 runs in the season.Stats and trivia
- The two teams have played each other nine times and Knight Riders are marginally ahead in terms of wins by 5-4
- Gambhir's strike-rate in IPL 2012 was 143.55, 18 points above his career figure
- Gambhir led Daredevils to wins over Knight Riders twice when the two teams met each other during the IPL 2009 season in South Africa
Quotes
"There are no favourites in this format, but we have the potential. I look around in the dressing room, and see a lot of greats of the game. If all of us play to our potential, we can go a long way in this competition."Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Gautam Gambhir on his team's chances
Mahela Jayawardene on taking over the captaincy of Delhi Daredevils from Virender Sehwag
Devashish Fuloria is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo