The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will take on Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) again in the 35th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Friday. They had met once this season which KXIP won.
Overview:
KKR conceded a four-run defeat to KXIP in their previous meeting at Mohali. They will be keen to take revenge at their home turf (Kolkata) on Friday.
KKR are at the bottom half of the table with four points after winning two of the seven matches played so far. They will take on KXIP after conceding three consecutive defeats. They posted a good total of 159 runs in the previous match against Mumbai Indians but failed to defend. Wounded by a series of defeats, the defending champions will be keen to start winning matches from here on.
KXIP are placed at the middle of the table with eight points after winning four of the seven matches played. They will be high on confidence when they take the field on Friday, as they won the previous two matches. They will be keen to crack into the top four of the table with a win against KKR.
Previous Meetings:
KKR and KXIP have met 10 times in the past and have won five matches apiece. They have met once this season, which KXIP won by four runs.
Team News:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Skipper Gautam Gambhir is the only consistent performer from the team, which is a worry. It is not sure if Jacques Kallis and Manoj Tiwary will play on Friday due to injuries. Their absence will give a big blow to the team but it will give way for Brendon McCullum. KKR need Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan and others to fire and give the team a good total.
The team has the tops wicket takers in the IPL - Sunil Narine (38 wickets from 22 matches) and Jacques Kallis (29 wickets). Narine was the leading wicket taker in the previous match too with three wickets for 17 runs in four overs. They also have Brett Lee, Rajat Bhatia, Sachithra Senanayake and Lakshmipathy Balaji in the line-up.
Kings XI Punjab: Skipper Adam Gilchrist's poor form continues, and he may give way for other players if he takes the current form into another game. The team has found saviours in Mandeep Singh and David Miller, who have turned into a sort of backbone, helping win a few matches with their sensible play. David Hussey's consistent performance is a plus point for the team. A little contribution from Luke Pomersbach, Manan Vohra and others will make KXIP even stronger.
On the bowling front, they have Praveen Kumar, Azhar Mahmood, Parvinder Awana, Piyush Chawla, Harmeet Bansal, Ryan Harris and Manpreet Gony. Bansal took three wickets and Kumar took two in the previous match.
Prediction:
Defending champions, KKR will be keen to win and add two more points to their total but it will be hard to beat KXIP, whose middle order has turned rock-solid as the tournament progresses. KXIP are the favourite to win on Friday.
SQUADS:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Brendon McCullum, Brett Lee, Debabrata Das, Eoin Morgan, Iqbal Abdulla, Jacques Kallis, James Pattinson, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Manoj Tiwary, Manvinder Bisla, Shami Ahmed, Pradeep Sangwan, Rajat Bhatia, Ryan McLaren, Ryan ten Doeschate, Sachithra Senanayake, Sarabjit Ladda, Shakib Al Hassan, Sunil Narine, Yusuf Pathan
Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist (C), Azhar Mahmood, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, David Hussey, David Miller, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Harmeet Singh Bansal, Luke Pomersbach, Manan Vohra, Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Gony, Nitin Saini, Parvinder Awana, Paul Valthaty, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Rajagopal Sathish, Ryan Harris, Sandeep Sharma, Shaun Marsh, Siddharth Chitnis, Sunny Singh
Where to Watch Live
The match will begin at 8:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Sony Set Max channel.
