The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will take on Pune Warriors India (PWI) at JSCA International Cricket Stadium, Ranchi (KKR's adopted ground) on Wednesday. It is the 65th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013 and the second meeting for the teams.
Overview:
KKR defeated PWI in their previous encounter this season. It will be a sort of revenge for the PWI if they win on Wednesday.
KKR are not completely out of the contention for the Play-Offs after Kings XI Punjab beat Royal Challengers Bangalore at Bengaluru on Tuesday. However, their chance of entering the last four will depend on the performance of other teams. They are currently placed seventh in the table with 12 points after winning six of the 14 games played. They defeated RCB by five wickets in the previous match which will boost their confidence.
PWI are out of the competition. They are lying at the floor of the table, winning just two of the 14 matches played so far. Their only consolation will be to stop nine-match losing streak and entertain their supporters by winning the remaining two games.
Previous Meetings:
KKR have a 100 percent record against PWI, winning all the four matches they have played in the IPL. They defeated PWI by 46 runs in their earlier encounter this season.
Team News:
Kolkata Knight Riders: None of the batsmen scored big except Jacques Kallis (41) in the previous match but everyone chipped in and chased 11-run target. Skipper Gautam Gambhir's bad form in the last few matches is a worry. They have Manvinder Bisla, Eoin Morgan and Ryan Ten Doeschate in the batting line-up.
Sunil Narine's performance this season has been outstanding and he shone in the previous match too by taking four wickets, while Lakshmipathy Balaji and Jacques Kallis took two wickets apiece. They restricted RCB's score to 115 at the back of bowling out PWI for 105 in their earlier game which is commendable.
Pune Warriors India: Opener Robin Uthappa and Aaron Finch failed with their bats in the previous match and that cost them the game. Manish Pandey and Yuvraj Singh started off well but couldn't convert them to big score. The openers need to fire from the very start and entertain their supports as they are out of the competition.
Ashok Dinda took two wickets in the previous match. They have Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mitchell Marsh, Abhishek Nayar, Rahul Sharma and Ajantha Mendis in the bowling line-up.
Prediction:
PWI are a strong side but considering their earlier encounters and performance this season, KKR emerge as the favourites to win on Wednesday.
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
Pune Warriors India: Angelo Mathews (c), Aaron Finch, Abhishek Nayar, Ajantha Mendis, Ali Murtaza, Anustup Majumdar, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dheeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Harpreet Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Kane Richardson, Krishnakant Upadhyay, Luke Wright, Mahesh Rawat, Manish Pandey, Marlon Samuels, Mitchell Marsh, Mithun Manhas, Parveez Rasool, Rahul Sharma, Raiphi Gomez, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor, Shrikant Wagh, Steve Smith, Tirumalasetti Suman, Tamim Iqbal, Udit Birla, Yuvraj Singh, Wayne Parnell
Where to Watch Live
The match will begin at 4:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Sony Set Max channel.
