Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders, the top two teams of the league go head-to-head in the first DLF IPL Playoffs 2012 which will be held in the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium, Pune

Undoubtedly, DD and KKR are at their best forms and are the best teams in the competition.DD sit at the top of the table with 11 wins from 16 league fixtures, while KKR are one point less and have won 10 of their 16 league fixtures.

Both teams are conscious of the fact that they’ve not been very convincing in their last few league matches. The Delhi Daredevils had won eight of their first ten matches, but since then they’ve only managed to win three of their remaining six fixtures. The only thing that should worry the DD team is that both the batting and bowling units have failed in their last three defeats.

Despite finishing the league season with consecutive victories, Kolkata Knight Riders will know they weren’t at their best in their last few games. The batting certainly hasn’t looked as good as it did during their eight-match unbeaten streak and they will need their batsmen to come out firing at this important stage in the competition.

In their previous meetings, the head-to-head record between the Delhi Daredevils and the Kolkata Knight Riders stands at four matches apiece.

When these two teams clashed in the league stage, it was the visiting team that prevailed on both occasions. In the first meeting at the Eden Gardens, the Delhi Daredevils recorded an eight-wicket win in a rain-affected match, while in the return fixture at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi, KKR chased down 154 to win by six wickets.

Kolkata Knight Riders Team Squad:

G Gambhir, S Ladda, L Balaji, R Bhatia, MS Bisla, DB Das, M de Lange, BJ Haddin, Iqbal Abdulla, CS Jani, JH Kallis, B Lee, BB McCullum, EJG Morgan, SP Narine, YK Pathan, JL Pattinson, SV Samson, PJ Sangwan, I Saxena, Shami Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan, LR Shukla, RN ten Doeschate, MK Tiwary, JD Unadkat

Delhi Daredevils Team Squad:

V Sehwag, MC Juneja, VR Aaron, AB Agarkar, P Bisht, R Bist, GH Bodi, DAJ Bracewell, U Chand, AJ Finch, DPMD Jayawardene, GJ Maxwell, M Morkel, S Nadeem, Y Nagar, PT Naik, P Negi, NV Ojha, IK Pathan, KP Pietersen, KC Raval, AD Russell, AM Salvi, LRPL Taylor, RE van der Merwe, Y Venugopal Rao, Vikas Mishra, DA Warner, TP Yadav, UT Yadav, Zafir Patel

In a must win situation The Royal Challengers Bangalore arrived in New Delhi to take on the top-ranked team of IPL 2012. The Delhi Daredevils were not up against the whole team but just one man – Christopher Henry Gayle. And Gayle gave them a tough time hands down with his third IPL century and the first in this season. As a result, RCB remain alive and kicking in the race for the playoffs with a 21-run victory against DD.

Earlier, despite resting their best fast bowler, Morne Morkel, the Daredevils decided to play to their strength and put RCB in to bat. Varun Aaron dismissed Tillakaratne Dilshan in the third over. But after that, there was no respite for the DD bowlers as Gayle and Kohli went on an all-out attack. Together, they put up unbeaten 204 runs in 17.4 overs for the second wicket.

Gayle annihilated every bowler that came his way. His 128 not out came off 62 balls and was laced with 13 sixes and seven fours. During his epic innings, he smacked three sixes in an over on two separate occasions. Irfan Pathan was the victim the first time and the second bowler to suffer this fate was left-arm spinner Pavan Negi. Gayle exerted so much power that towards the end, his shoulders began to cramp because of all the big hitting.

Kohli, who has had a quiet tournament by his standards so far, chose the perfect occasion to strike form. He looked in fine touch, placing and timing the ball with precision and grace. He played some delightful cricketing strokes whenever opportunity presented itself. Kohli (73 off 53 balls) concentrated on timing and placement to pierce the gaps in the field.

Chris Gayle was undoubtedly declared the man of the match for scoring 128 off 62 balls, which was also his first century in IPL 2012.