IPL 2021 Match Prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders versus Delhi Capitals . 41st Match. Who Will Win?

The 2021 IPL league table is now divided into two parts - the top three teams seem to have secured their places in the play-offs, while the final position is up for grabs with four teams being in with the chance of claiming it. For a gambling perspective, this is great as the uncertainty will lead to some good cricket betting odds.

The Kolkata Knight Riders are one of the four teams fighting it out for the final play-off spot. Their opponents, the Delhi Capitals, have been the team to beat and are almost likely to finish in the top 2. Read on to find out our IPL prediction of who we think will go on to win this match.

Kolkata Knight Riders Team Preview

The Kolkata Knight Riders would have been very disappointed to lose their last match versus the Chennai Super Kings. They batted pretty well, put up a decent total, and collected wickets throughout the middle overs. One really bad over by Prasidh Krishna was the difference in the end between them picking up the big scalp of the Chennai Super Kings.

However, despite their loss, there were plenty of positives that they can take from the match. For instance, Rahul Tripathi is batting pretty well, while Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine have been bowling with plenty of control. Dinesh Kartik has also looked in pretty decent form.

Shubman Gil has not been having the 2021 IPL that many thought he would have, but we think that a big score for him is just around the corner. The main problem that the Kolkata Knight Riders have for this match is who takes Andre Russll's spot in the team. Ben Cutting and Shakib Al Hasan are the two main options and taking the Sharjah wicket into consideration, we think the Al Hasan is the best option. There will be no other changes to their playing eleven, we would imagine.

Delhi Capitals Team Preview

The Delhi Capitals showed in their last match that they are capable of winning games even when their batting unit does not fire. The effort from their bowlers in the last match was fantastic and each one did the job that was required of them. Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje bring a lot of quality to their seam attack, while it is safe to say that Avesh Khan has been one of the finds of the 2021 IPL.

In their last match, we thought that they were lacking a bit when it comes to the balance of their team. They played Lalit Yadav at number six and we feel that this leaves their batting a bit short. The Delhi Capitals played only three overseas players in the last match, so they can add Tom Curran or Sam Billings to the lineup. We are a little bit worried about their batting because they seem too dependent on their top order - if there is spin on offer, then it could expose their lack of depth.

Toss Prediction

The team that goes on to win the toss will definitely want to bat first because the Sharjah wicket seems to get trickier to bat on as the game develops. Batting first at this stadium is certainly an advantage.

Pitch and Conditions

The weather in Sharjah has been hot and it will remain like this. In the previous match, the surface took plenty of spin and it became really hard for the team batting second. The team batting first scored 125 and managed to defend it, which shows just how tricky it got to bat on in the second innings. The team that bats first in this match will be looking to score around 140-150 as this could be a really hard score to chase down.

Our Match Prediction

The Delhi Capitals have been one of the best teams, but a tricky batting surface and some balance issues in the team could trip them over a bit. Also, the Kolkata Knight Riders almost beat the Chennai Super Kings in the last match, and are in pretty good form themselves. With this in mind, we like the odds for the KKR to win and feel that they are too good for us to pass on.

Our match prediction: