IPL 2020, KKR vs DC: 3 closest past encounters

The Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Delhi Capitals in match 16 of IPL 2020. Despite being early days, the IPL table looks cramped at the moment and the winner of this match will most likely find themselves at the top of the table.

Up next ➡️➡️ 𝗔 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿-𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 🤜🤛Dilliwalon, ready for an action-packed Saturday? 😎#DCvKKR #Dream11IPL #IPL2020 #YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/CTCfcoPAAW

— Delhi Capitals (Tweeting from 🇦🇪) (@DelhiCapitals) October 2, 2020

KKR and DC have played each other 25 times in the past, with the Kolkata Knight Riders holding the edge with 13 wins. Delhi Capitals have won 11 while there has been one IPL game with no result.

Both teams have amassed four points from three games and will be looking to continue their good run this season.

.@Russell12A will be going for a different 6️⃣ when we take on Delhi Capitals on Saturday. 💡 Dre Russ has dismissed Shreyas Iyer 5 times in the IPL so far#KKRHaiTaiyaar #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/F1hg41v7F4

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) October 2, 2020

Before the rivalry between the two teams is reignited, here is a walk down memory lane where we inspect the closest past encounters between KKR and DC:

3) Match #6, IPL 2014: DC win by four wickets (3 balls to spare)

Quick strikes [Image credits: IPLT20.com]

Final Scores:

• KKR: 166/5 (20 overs)
• DC: 167/5 (19.3 overs)

KKR had a disastrous start with both of their openers - Jacques Kallis and Gautam Gambhir - dismissed for ducks. Manish Pandey's innings of 48 from 42, and Robin Uthappa's innings of 55 from 41 steadied the ship before Shakib Al Hasan and Suryakumar Yadav's fireworks in the end to post a par 166/5.

DC opener Murali Vijay fell for a duck as well but captain Dinesh Karthik led from the front (56 off 40) to keep the scoreboard ticking. JP Duminy scored a quickfire 52*(36) towards the end to guide DC home.

DC required 32 runs from three overs, with JP Duminy batting at a run-a-ball 26. The next over went bowled by Morne Morkel went for 21 runs as Duminy snatched the game away from KKR, finally winning with three balls to spare.

2) Match #18, IPL 2017: KKR win by four wickets (one ball to spare)

Lethal pace [Image credits: IPLT20.com]

Final scores:

• DC: 168/7 (20 overs)
• KKR: 169/5 (19.5 overs)

Five DC batsmen scored above 20, two above 30, as DC scrambled to 168/7. KKR's Nathan Coulter-Nile was the wrecker-in-chief, returning figures of 22-3 in his four overs. In response, Manish Pandey's 69*(49) and Yusuf Pathan's 59(39) batted DC out of the contest.

With 34 required off the last five overs, the game seemed to be firmly in KKR's grasp. The next four overs, however, accounted for just 25 runs and one wicket, leaving KKR needing a tricky nine runs off the final over.

A dot and a wicket in the final over's first two balls made the game even more interesting. Manish Pandey hit a six off the fourth ball, followed by a double to secure a victory that had almost slipped out of KKR's grasp.

1) Match #10, IPL 2019: DC beat KKR in a Super Over

A narrow escape[Image credits: IPLT20.com]

Final Scores:

• KKR: 185/8 (20 overs) and 7/1 (Super Over)
• DC: 185/6 (20 overs) and 10/1 (Super Over)

After captain Dinesh Karthik's 50(36) set up the KKR innings, Andre Russell scored a whirlwind 62(28) to propel KKR to a challenging 185/8.

In response, Prithvi Shaw scored 99(55) to lead DC's fightback. Shreyas Iyer's 43(32) supported Prithvi Shaw admirably as DC required just six runs off the last over. In the final spectacular final over bowled by Kuldeep Yadav, the scorecard read: 1, 2, 0, 1, wicket, wicket!

Kuldeep Yadav had produced a miracle to force the IPL match into a Super Over.

Shreyas Iyer and Rishab Pant managed to accumulate 10 runs in DC's Super Over against Prasidh Krishna. With Andre Russell walking out for KKR, 10 runs seemed way too short. There was, however, one more spectacular bowling display yet to come.

Russell slapped Kagiso Rabada for a boundary in the first ball, but KKR's luck ended there. The second ball was a dot and Rabada knocked over Russell in the third. KKR could only manage three singles in the next three balls to end up with 7 runs off their Super Over.

DC and KKR have had some memorable clashes in the past seasons of the IPL. With IPL 2020 being so evenly matched edition , do not be surprised if there is another high-drama encounter in the offing.