IPL 2023: KKR and Punjab Kings will clash with each other to keep ‘playoff’ hopes alive
Kolkata. With time running out fast, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings will face each other here on Monday to keep alive their hopes of making it to the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs. . While KKR will have to make some tough decisions, Punjab will also have to perform well in every department of the game. The Punjab team led by Shikhar Dhawan had to face defeat against Mumbai Indians in the last match. They are a rung above eighth-placed KKR with a two-point lead but both the teams are in danger of being knocked out of the playoff race. For Nitish Rana-led KKR, now the remaining four matches have become like do or die.
His team management now needs to look at options other than their Caribbean legends Andre Russell and Sunil Narine as both these players have not performed as expected so far this season. In particular, Narayan has neither been able to show the magic of his spin bowling nor has he been able to contribute anything with the bat. He played a key role in helping KKR win titles in 2012 and 2014 under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir but that is a thing of the past. The question arises whether KKR can field a player who has taken only seven wickets in 10 matches at an economy rate of 8.76 and scored only 14 runs in eight innings.
With Narine being a regular part of the playing XI, KKR have not been able to utilize their overseas players like fast bowler Lockie Ferguson and all-rounder David Weiss properly. Varun Chakraborty is playing a good role in the spin department for KKR and in such a situation the team management can consider replacing Narine with some other player in the playing XI. As far as Russell is concerned, he can be kept in the playing XI but he should be sent to bat higher up the order as he is getting very few chances to show his temperament. The Jamaican big hitter has so far scored 166 runs at a strike rate of over 148. Russell has bowled well in the middle overs and has taken seven wickets so far.
KKR have to play three of their remaining four matches at Eden Gardens and should take full advantage of the home conditions. He needs to continue the way he did in every department of the game in the last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Punjab have a good bowling attack in the form of Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh but they could not defend their score of 214 runs in the last match against Mumbai. Mumbai batsmen adopted an aggressive approach against them and KKR batsmen will have to adopt a similar approach. Punjab’s batting is dependent on Liam Livingstone, Shikhar Dhawan and wicket-keeper batsman Jitesh Sharma and KKR will have to try to contain all three.
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Squad: Kolkata Knight Riders: Nitish Rana (Captain), Jason Roy, Rahmanullah Gurbaj, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakraborty, Anukul Roy , Rinku Singh, N Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Weiss, Kulwant Khejroliya, Mandeep Singh and Arya Desai. Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Shah Rukh Khan, Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Tayde, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Mohit Rathi, Shivam Singh. Match starts: 7.30 pm Indian time.
