BIG PICTURE
Both Gujarat Lions and Kolkata Knight Riders enter this contest having lost comprehensively to the Royal Challengers Bangalore last time out. While Gautam Gambhir’s men did well with the bat and managed to drag the game to its final over, a Suresh Raina-less Gujarat side saw their net run-rate take a battering courtesy of the superhuman efforts of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
As a result, both sides have their work cut out in a contest that is a virtual knock-out. Even sixteen points may not guarantee a play-off berth, and this scenario is especially critical for the Lions as they not only have the poorest NRR but also have their final game against the Mumbai Indians, who’ve made quite a name for themselves for last minute dashes over the line.
Kolkata will look to exploit a traditionally slow surface in Kanpur and will have to make do without premier all-rounder Andre Russell, who misses out with an injury. That may give Gambhir an opportunity to slip another spinner into the side in a bid to stifle Gujarat’s stroke-makers.
Gujarat on the other hand have seen their fortunes plummet largely due to their batsmen’s indifferent form and their bowlers’ inability to control the runs when needed. For example, in the game against RCB, Praveen Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja went for a combined 80 runs. Such bowling performances won’t cut it against Kolkata’s batting depth. Lions fans will hope that Raina’s return will rejuvenate the entire team.
KEY BATTLE
Kolkata’s spinners vs Brendon McCullum: Big Mac, facing his former teammates, will be fully aware that the wily Gambhir will have a trick or two up his sleeve to keep the pressure on him. McCullum likes to use his feet early on in the innings and that might be a little bit of a challenge with the likes of Sunil Narine and Shakib al Hasan bowling on a pitch that is expected to grip and turn.
WATCH OUT FOR
Raina’s return will boost his team’s confidence
Suresh Raina: For the first time in nine years, Suresh Raina takes a day off from IPL duties and his team falls to an ignominious defeat. Raina’s presence has always been pivotal to his team’s chances of doing well in the competition and the Indian southpaw will not want to disappoint his fans in what is going to be a ‘home’ game in spite of it not being played at Rajkot, due to the number of players from Uttar Pradesh in the Gujarat side.
EXPECTED XIs
There will be a couple of straight switches in both the sides, one owing to Raina’s return and the other owing to Andre Russell’s injury. While young Akshdeep Nath might have to miss out for the Gujarat Lions, Gambhir will bolster his spin attack by bringing in Brad Hogg. Ankit Rajpoot might be persisted with.
Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Praveen Kumar, Pravin Tambe, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shivil Kaushik
Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Shakib al-Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Brad Hogg, Sunil Narine, Ankit Rajpoot, Morne Morkel
STRAIGHT FROM TWITTER
A heartfelt message from our #Knights as we head into the last 2 matches of the league. It isn't over till it's overhttps://t.co/RusMZM9fqb
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 17, 2016
