KKR will look to get back to winning ways against Kings XI Punjab at the Eden Gardens
After batting first on a flat wicket at Wankhede, KKR notched a healthy 178/7 on the board courtesy of a dazzling 81 from Manish Pandey. They almost had the game in their bag with the hosts struggling at 119/5 in the 17th over but then Hardik Pandya and Nitish Rana miraculously got their side within touching distance of the target. And even though Rana fell after getting to his 50, Pandya ensured he remained unbeaten to take his team across the line.
While the chase was unfolding at the Wankhede, KKR’s talisman this year Chris Lynn injured his left shoulder once again as he dived to take a catch. The injury looks serious and he is surely going to miss tomorrow’s game against the Kings XI Punjab.
While Lynn looks doubtful starter against KXIP, KKR, however, will be boasted by the return of star India pacer Umesh Yadav who has joined the team on Tuesday.
The pacer had complained of right hip and lower back soreness to miss the first two KKR matches after a gruelling home season where he played 12 of the 13 Tests and was instrumental in India’s 2-1 win over Australia.
On spin-friendly conditions, Yadav was incisive with his new-found rhythm as he gave vital breakthroughs to finish the season as India’s third-highest wicket-taker behind Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Yadav is likely to replace Ankit Rajpoot, who gave away 19 runs in the penultimate over against Mumbai, who chased down KKR’s challenging 178 with a ball to spare.
Head-to-head: KKR have a clear advantage over KXIP. The two teams have faced each other 19 times in IPL and KKR have won 13 of them. In fact, KKR have won the last seven matches against KXIP. The last time KXIP beat KKR was in April 2014 at Dubai. At the Eden Gardens, KKR have won six out of the eight matches between these two teams. We have to go way back to 2012 for the last time KXIP beat KKR at Eden Gardens.
Predictions: While KKR might be head and shoulders above when it comes to the overall records, one cannot deny that KXIP have enough firepower to take their team over the line. KKR were in control for most parts of the match against MI, but they leaked runs left, right and centre and as a result lost a match that they should have won. However, KKR have an experienced skipper in Gautam Gambhir and having led KKR to a couple of titles already, it could eventually come down to the way he leads his side in this match.
KKR XI: Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Ishank Jaggi, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Colin de Grandhomme/Darren Bravo/Shakib Al Hasan, Chris Woakes, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Trent Boult.
KXIP likely XI: Hashim Amla, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Varun Aaron, David Miller, Glenn Maxwell (c), Mohit Sharma/Ishant Sharma/Swapnil Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Manan Vohra, Akshar Patel, Marcus Stoinis, T Natarajan
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