One day to go for IPL 2017! Here is the second part of our IPL 2017 preview covering KKR, GL, KXIP and DD.

Read Part 1 here.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Skipper:                                  Gautam Gambhir

2016 Finish:                          #4 of 8, losing the eliminator to eventual champions

Best Finish Ever:                  2012 and 2014 Winners

First Match:                           Gujarat Lions vs. KKR at Rajkot, Friday April 7^th, 2017 at 8pm IST

Team Balance:                      Probably the best balanced side of all – batting, all-rounders, spinners, pacers, young, old!

Players to Watch:

1. Robin Uthappa: No longer playing for India, Uthappa continues to shine in the IPL; 3390 runs with 17 half centuries since 2008
2. Trent Boult: Stuck in a stacked SRH lineup last year, he barely played, but will be an excellent fast bowling replacement for Morne Morkel
3. Chris Woakes: T20 Strike rate of 139 with the bat, 400+ first class wickets with the ball. KKR may have found the perfect replacement for Andre Russell.

Gujarat Lions

Skipper:                                  Suresh Raina

2016 Finish:                          #3 of 8, after topping the table but losing both qualifiers

Best Finish Ever:                  2016, their first and only season so far

First Match:                           Gujarat Lions vs. KKR at Rajkot, Friday April 7^th, 2017 at 8pm IST

Team Balance:                      Batting heavy with 3 true all-rounders, but limited pure bowling quality

Players to Watch:

1. Jason Roy: His first ever IPL, but Roy has a T20 strike rate of nearly 145.
2. Dwayne Bravo: #3 on IPLs all-time highest wicket taker list with his focus on death overs
3. Ravindra Jadeja: Man of the Series in tests against Australia, Sir is more than capable in the T20 format.

Kings XI Punjab

Skipper:                                  Glenn Maxwell

2016 Finish:                          #8 of 8 for the second year in a row

Best Finish Ever:                  Finalists in 2014

First Match:                           KXIP vs. Rising Pune Supergiants at Indore, April 8, 2017 at 4pm IST

Team Balance:                      Very batting heavy; not a single overseas bowler in the entire squad

Players to Watch:

1. Eoin Morgan: With 24 T20 half centuries, Morgan was this year’s biggest buy for KXIP
2. Sandeep Sharma: Not a big name but has a knack to pick up both early and late wickets
3. Wriddhiman Saha: Sometimes seen as a test specialist, Saha has 2484 T20 runs at a strike rate of over 130

 Delhi Daredevils

Skipper:                                 Zaheer Khan

2016 Finish:                          #6

Best Finish Ever:                  2008, 2009 Semi Finalists

First Match:                           RCB vs. Delhi Daredevils at Bengaluru, April 8, 2017 at 8pm IST

Team Balance:                      Light on top order batting, strong lower order and quick bowling

Players to Watch:

1.  Kagiso Rabada: This young quick was Delhi’s key buy this year; though his T20 stats are limited, his Test and ODI bowling figures are tremendous
2. Rishabh Pant: Young but with a bright future; he burst on the scene with a test match triple century and 48-ball hundred in the same season
3. Amit Mishra: Amit Mishra’s leg spinners have picked up 124 victims in his IPL career, second only to Malinga. Can run through any line-up on his day.