IPL 2018: Match 18, KKR vs KXIP, Preview - Chris alerts Knight Riders from Gayle storm

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will host the rampant Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the top of the table clash at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. The hosts have played a game extra but have enjoyed a couple of consecutive victories and will be hoping to continue their winning momentum. But the visiting side is on fire with their unpredictability so far and the Universe Boss Chris Gayle has announced himself to the tournament in style. However, the Knight Riders are known to take up stern challenges and surely it will be a humdinger of a game.

KKR executed their plans really well in their last game against Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium and Dinesh Karthik led the side admirably well. His batting has also sparkled with time as he is getting settled into his new role. It seems that the team has got the perfect combination going barring Chris Lynn who has been below-par so far this season. It will be interesting to see the way they will tackle the threat of Gayle who is in great form and is coming on the back of a stunning century against SRH.

R Ashwin has been magnificent so far at the helm and also became the first captain this year to bat first after winning the toss. The team has come alive superbly with Gayle’s assault even as their Indian contingent has impressed the most in the limited opportunities so far. They are looking like a team to beat and Ashwin himself has taken the responsibility of leading the bowling attack and has indeed done well. Though they should be ready for the rare failure from Gayle and prove everyone that the team is not heavily dependent on him to score runs.

Toss: KXIP won the toss and elected to field first

Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Changes: Ankit Rajpoot comes in for Mohit Sharma

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Tom Curran, Piyush Chawla, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav

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Team Combinations

Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR to have got settled into a perfect combination after registering wins in their last two matches. Though Lynn and Narine have failed to live up to the expectations, it is the form of Uthappa and Rana which has held them together most of the times. The skipper has also chipped in with few important knocks and barring last minute injuries there should not be any changes to their line-up.

There will be pressure on the bowling attack as they will have to restrict Gayle who is looking in the marauding mood in his last couple of appearances.

Kings XI Punjab

Axar Patel continues to sit out from the playing XI as he is yet to recover from his injury. But his replacement Barinder Sran has been doing exceedingly well and there is no need to worry for the visitors. Their batsmen are in great form with the likes of Agarwal and Karun Nair backing up the good job of openers and also have the finishers like Finch and Yuvraj Singh.

The bowling attack is also safe in the hands of Andrew Tye, the skipper himself, Sran and the mystery spinner Mujeeb Zadran who is yet to be decoded this season. No changes are expected in the playing XI for them after doing so well against SRH.

Focus will be on

Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Sunil Narine bowled the worst spell in his IPL career against Royals conceding 48 runs in four overs. He will be happy coming back to the home ground as the wicket at Eden Gardens suits his style of bowling. It is important for KKR for Narine to fire as an all-rounder as they bank on him a lot giving him overs in powerplay overs and he also opens the innings for him. More than his batting, it will be interesting to see if he can make a comeback in this game after a horror outing in the previous match.

Aaron Finch (Kings XI Punjab)

Aaron Finch arrived in India soon after his marriage and has struggled a lot with the bat. He failed to even open his account in his first couple of matches and bagged a golden duck. The other day against the Sunrisers, he got to bat only in the last over and the Australian showed signs of regaining some form by scoring 14 off just 6 deliveries. In case, Gayle fails in this game, the onus will be on him to score big runs and propel the score of the team. Even Finch will be excited to make a significant contribution and he is due to score big.

Head to Head

Played- 21, Kolkata Knight Riders- 14, Kings XI Punjab- 7, NR/Tie- 0

Stat Attack

3 – Chris Lynn needs only 3 runs to complete 300o runs in the shortest format of the game.

24 – Sunil Narine enjoys bowling to KXIP batsmen as he has taken 24 wickets against them which is the most by any bowler.

Broadcast details

TV– Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Jalsha (Bengali), Star Maa Movies (Telegu), Star Sports Tamil

Live Streaming– Hotstar & YuppTv

Match Timings: 16:00 IST, 10:30 GMT

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