After opening the 12th edition of the Vivo IPL with a win, Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab are all set for a face-off at the iconic Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
The Knight Riders got the better of Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday evening; KKR turned around a match that appeared to be slipping away from them – thanks to Andre Russell’s late rescue that saw them chase down 182.
On the other hand Kings XI Punjab too will be riding high on confidence after they converted what appeared to a match fast slipping away from them into a win. While KXIP certainly bowled well in the latter half and were aided by some excellent catching in the outfield, they were also helped in their cause by the Rajasthan Royals’ spectacular implosion.
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In this match, while KKR can boast the scoreboard with Chris Lynn, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine in their line-up, KXIP will be able to match that up with the likes of Chris Gayle, KL Rahul and Nicholas Pooran.
In the bowling department, both teams possess quality spinners in their ranks; KKR will want Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav to cause plenty of damage, while KXIP will look towards Mujeeb ur Rahman to make KKR batsmen dance on the crease.
Out of 23 Matches between KKR and KXIP, Kolkata Knight Riders had won 15 while Kings XI Punjab only won 8.
But this time it will be a tough fight as both teams look equal on the paper.
TEAMS
Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Nitish Rana, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson.
Kings XI Punjab:KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Sam Curran, Mohammed Shami, Ankit Rajpoot