Kolkata Knight Riders would do well to forget their last match against Mumbai Indians. First conceding 210-6 against the defending champions, the Knight Riders were shot out for 108 to slump to a 102-run defeat in one of the most one-sided encounters seen in the tournament.
But at least the only way from there is up. Thoroughly outplayed in every department, the Knight Riders need to get their act together after falling to their second straight defeat as they prepare for their match against Kings XI Punjab in the IPL on Saturday.
The biggest concern for them right now will be the fitness of Andre Russell. The West Indies all-rounder has been battling a hamstring injury for a while and has been struggling to complete his bowling action efficiently. In the match against Mumbai, Russell struggled to move while batting and bowling and Kolkata must decide if an unfit star player is worth the risk.
If I was #KKR I would be really worried about Andre Russell. Down on his knees after every ball.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 9, 2018
Kings XI Punjab batsman KL Rahul has been in superb form this IPL season. The opening batsman seems to be on a mission, scoring 471 runs from 10 innings at an average of almost 59 and a strike rate of 156. The only problem is he is not getting much support from other batsmen, apart from Chris Gayle.
Captain Ravi Ashwin will do well to learn from the mistakes committed in the last game against Rajasthan Royals while chasing 159.
There, Ashwin promoted himself to No3 ahead of recognised batsmen like Karun Nair and Manoj Tiwary, a move that failed. Rahul fought a lone battle, finishing unbeaten on 95 as Punjab lost by 15 runs with only one other batsman reaching double figures.
Players in focus
Punjab opener Gayle has registered two single-digit scores in his last two innings. After starting off with two fifties and a century, Gayle seems to be slowing down. Now is the time for the southpaw to take the initiative and reduce the pressure on Rahul.
Knight Riders’ foreign pace attack is a growing concern with Tom Curran failing to fire and Russell looking unable to finish his quota of four overs. It means young Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna or Shivam Mavi, whoever is selected, will have to take a greater portion of the load.
Likely line-ups
Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Yuvraj Singh, Karun Nair, Manoj Tiwary, Ravi Ashwin (c),Axar Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Andrew Tye
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Rinku Singh, Robin Uthappa, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik (c & wk), Nitish Rana, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Tom Curran
