Sharjah: Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) would like to make it five wins in five matches when they face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday.
Both the teams are coming into this game on the back of their impressive wins. KKR made a stunning turnaround after their performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and went on to beat Delhi Capitals (DC) by 59 runs.
On the other hand, KXIP held their nerve and won their fourth game on the bounce, defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) while defending 126. While KKR are in the top half of the points table with six wins against their name, KXIP’s, following their resurgence, are occupying the fifth spot in the standings.
In their last meeting, KKR and KXIP played out a last-ball thriller where KKR edged out KXIP by two runs, defending 164. Varun Chakravarthy was on a roll with the ball against Delhi and following his match-winning effort of 5/20, became the first bowler to take a five-wicket haul this season. The mystery spinner will be eager to continue his good form.
KL Rahul had scored an impressive 74 when his side faced KKR the last time. The KXIP skipper, who is the leading run-getter this season, will be looking to have another impressive outing with the bat against KKR and will be hoping for a different outcome than the one his side had to endure during their previous meeting against KKR.
Nitish Rana was promoted to open the batting against Delhi and the left-hander returned with a knock of 81 off 53 deliveries to set up KKR’s 59-run win. After KKR lost three early, Rana and Narine put up a 115-run partnership as KKR turned things around. Rana, who now has two half-centuries to his name this season, will be eager to have an encore of his performance against DC when KKR face KXIP.
Chris Jordan was the pick of bowlers in KXIP’s win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. The right-arm pacer, who was brought into the side in place of Jimmy Neesham, justified his selection and put in a match-winning performance as he picked three wickets, conceding just 17 runs. Jordan was equally brilliant in the field and held on to two catches to contribute to the team’s cause. He will once again be someone that KXIP will turn to against KKR.
Like Jordan, KKR brought in Sunil Narine for their last game and he delivered the goods and changed KKR’s fortunes. Walking in to bat after KKR had lost three early wickets, Narine hammered 64 off 32 balls and changed the momentum of the game, helping KKR post 194 on the board. KKR will expect him to continue his good work as they seek their second win in a row.
While Jordan picked three wickets, the duo of Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin also played their part in KXIP’s win over SRH. The duo gave away not more than 40 runs in their 8 overs and picked up two important wickets of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow. KXIP will once again bank on them as they take on KKR.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (C), Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sandeep Warrier, Siddhesh Lad, Nikhil Naik, Tim Seifert, Chris Green, Rinku Singh, Ali Khan, Tom Banton, Shivam Mavi, Manimaran Siddharth.
Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (wk/C), Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Krishnappa Gowtham, James Neesham, Sheldon Cottrell, Sarfaraz Khan, Hardus Viljoen, Jagadeesha Suchith, Ishan Porel, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Tajinder Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Simran Singh, Harpreet Brar
