Picking a combined DC-KKR playing 11 with impact sub ahead of IPL 2025 clash ft. KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane

Delhi Capitals (DC) will face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match 48 of IPL 2025 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday, April 29. DC have gone off the boil after a great start and are now fourth in the points table, with three losses in their last five matches. KKR are in seventh position, with seven points from nine games.

In their previous match, Delhi suffered an eight-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Sent into bat by RCB, DC's batters struggled to get going and were held to 162-8 in their 20 overs. They reduced RCB to 26-3 in the chase. However, Krunal Pandya and Virat Kohli ensured victory for the chasing side with contrasting half-centuries.

Kolkata's previous encounter against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Eden Gardens ended in no result due to rain. Before that, they suffered defeats against PBKS and Gujarat Titans (GT) by 16 runs and 39 runs respectively. KKR's batting has been disappointing right through their IPL 2025 campaign and their bowling too has lost a bit of sting in recent matches.

In the head-to-head battle, Kolkata have a 18-15 lead over Delhi. Ahead of the IPL 2025 match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday, we pick a combined DC-KKR playing XI, with impact sub options.

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Top-order: Abishek Porel, Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane

DC's Abishek Porel and the KKR duo of Sunil Narine and skipper Ajinkya Rahane would form the top-order in the combined playing XI. Porel has done a good job for Delhi at the top. In nine innings, he has contributed 253 runs at an average of 27.86 and a strike rate of 152.86, with three half-centuries.

Narine has registered a few failures with the bat in recent matches. But, he makes the team because of the versatility as a player. The left-handed batter has scored 151 runs at a strike rate of 175.58, with a best of 44. With his off spin, he has claimed seven wickets at an economy rate of 32.14 and an economy rate of 7.75.

Kolkata captain Rahane has been among the few bright spots for the team in IPL 2025. In eight innings, he has contributed 271 runs at an average of 38.71 and a strike rate of 146.48, with three half-centuries and a best of 61. Rahane slammed 50 off 36 against GT at Eden Gardens.

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Middle-order: KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Rinku Singh

KL Rahul has been in impressive form for DC in IPL 2025. In eight matches, he has scored 364 runs at an average of 60.66 and a strike rate of 146.18, with three half-centuries to his name. He scored 41 against RCB in Delhi's last match, but struggled a bit for momentum as his knock came off 39 balls.

Delhi captain Axar Patel would also lead the combined DC-KKR playing XI. The left-hander has made some handy contributions with the bat. In eight innings, he has scored 189 runs at a strike rate of 156.19. With his left-arm spin, Axar has picked up three wickets. He impressed with 2-19 in the loss against RCB.

Tristan Stubbs and Rinku Singh would be the finishers in the combined Delhi-Kolkata playing XI. Stubbs has contributed 217 runs in eight innings at an impressive strike rate of 164.39. Rinku has scored 133 runs in seven innings for KKR at a strike rate of 146.15.

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Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana

DC's left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav would be Narine's slow bowling partner in the combined XI. Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana would handle the pace bowling duties.

Kuldeep has claimed 12 wickets in nine innings at an average of 19.66 and an economy rate of 6.55. Starc has had a mixed season. The DC left-arm seamer has claimed 11 wickets in nine matches, with one five-fer. However, his economy rate is over 10. KKR right-arm pacers Arora and Harshit have claimed 11 scalps each.

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Impact Player options: Varun Chakaravarthy, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Karun Nair, Vipraj Nigam, Rahmanullah Gurbaz