Kings XI Punjab, after suffering defeats in their first two games of IPL 2016, finally registered their first points by getting the better of Rising Pune Supergiants on Sunday. Kings XI Punjab will be keen to keep that winning momentum as they prepare to host Gautam Gambhir's Kolkata Knight Riders at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday. KKR have been solid, winning two and losing one so far.
The pitch in Mohali is expected to be batsman-friendly, and with brilliant stroke players in both camps, one might witness a flurry of boundaries and sixes. If Kings XI have Manan Vohra, Murali Vijay, Glenn Maxwell and David Miller, the KKR team comprise of batsmen like Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Andre Russell.
After picking their first win in IPL 2016, Kings XI Punjab might not be keen on making any changes to the team. It was an all-round performance from the Kings XI Punjab, which saw them win the match against RPS.
However, Shaun Marsh and David Miller's form in IPL 2016 has been a major worry. This match against KKR could be another chance for Marsh to come back into form, and score runs, or else players like Farhaan Behardien might replace the left-hander. One will not be surprised to see Behardien picked in the playing XI as he can add a bowling option to the lineup as well.
Kolkata Knight Riders have a settled team, but they suffered a massive setback when John Hastings was ruled out of IPL 2016 with an ankle injury. Hastings did not play in their last match, a win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Like Kings XI, KKR also might not make any changes to their playing XI. No one likes to disturb a winning combination. Having said that, they seem to possess too many spinners in their team, which might be suited to the Eden Gardens, on a turning track, but not so much in Mohali.
Dropping spinner Shakib-Al Hasan for the game and bringing Colin Munro or Jason Holder could be a good idea. Both Munro and Holder could play as an all-rounder for the team.
Likely XI: Kings XI Punjab: Murali Vijay, Manan Vohra, David Miller (c), Glenn Maxwell, Farhaan Behardien, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Axar Patel, Kyle Abbott, Mohit Sharma, Pardeep Sahu, Sandeep Sharma.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Robin Uthappa (wk), Gautam Gambhir (c), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav.
