Play the strongest possible XI and get the job done will be KKR's plan when they host the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2017 Match 54 on Saturday.
With their spot in the playoffs still not quite locked up – it is almost done owing to their superior net run rate – the Kolkata Knight Riders will look to pick up the win over the already-qualified Mumbai Indians that will guarantee them a spot in the final week of the tournament, and most likely, a top two place as well.
In order to do that, KKR will forget about resting any of their big-name players and go with the strongest possible XI.
That means the likes of Robin Uthappa and Chris Lynn, who have been hampered by injuries in IPL 2017, playing, with the former coming back from a slight problem in the last game, while the latter has looked good on return after missing nearly a month of action with a shoulder injury.
Lynn slotted right back up the order after making his comeback, and while Sunil Narine was his opening partner in the last couple of matches, it does look like the KKR spinner is set to go back down the order.
Gautam Gambhir did not seem to enjoy himself too much batting at No.3, struggling to really get going post-Powerplay, and after the previous match, a loss to the Kings XI Punjab, the KKR captain admitted he is likely to go back to opening the innings.
That makes sense too.
While opening with two tearaway batsmen like Lynn and Narine could work out, what really helps in the long-term is to have a sedate, will-get-the-job-done batsman at one end to go with the tyro at the other.
Lynn is just too good a batsman right now to be dropped down the order, so it has to be Narine making way for Gambhir, if indeed the captain is set to open the innings again.
While KKR ended up losing their last game, it is unlikely that there will be too many changes to the playing XI.
Ankit Rajpoot could keep his place after bowling a nice final over, and while Nathan Coulter-Nile might have walked back into the playing XI in the place of Colin de Grandhomme, the head injury suffered a few games back is set to keep him out again.
Suryakumar Yadav is also a player who might not be available for selection, while this is set to be Chris Woakes' last game for KKR, before the fast bowler flies to England to play in an ODI series against South Africa.
The same goes for Mumbai Indians batsman Jos Buttler, and the reason why MI have played Lendl Simmons in the past few matches is because they know Buttler will not be a part of the playoffs.
The Mumbai Indians batting lineup looks a lot more brittle when Krunal Pandya isn't there in the team. That was evident when Kieron Pollard seemed to run out of credible partners at the other end, with the West Indian, as a result, having to take all the strike as he looked to chase down what would have been a record total against the Kings XI Punjab.
With Nitish Rana struggling for runs, MI might consider bringing Ambati Rayudu back, although chances are they will stick with the left-hander.
Confirmed playing XI:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (C), Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Colin de Grandhomme, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Trent Boult, Ankit Rajpoot.
Mumbai Indians: Lendl Simmons, Rohit Sharma (C), Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Saurabh Tiwary, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Karn Sharma, R Vinay Kumar, Mitchell Johnson, Tim Southee.
