IPL 2019 Match Preview: M6 – KKR VS KXIP: 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-innings pyrotechnics that saw them chase down 182.
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.
The Kolkata Knight Riders play a series of away matches post this and they will want to hit the road with the confidence of a win. KXIP meanwhile will look to win this and keep a 100% record before they head back home for two more fixtures.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Narine’s finger injury, that prevented the team from opening with their gun player as a precautionary measure, has healed and the Caribbean spinner was amongst the first few to roll their arm in the nets.
In which case, do you still push Nitish Rana down the order despite how admirably he filled in? Rana himself made it clear that not opening with Narine on Sunday was a last-minute call, but his runs at the top of the order will please KKR should they need a tweak and/or a surprise element going forward in the tournament. For Wednesday, the team would likely stick with their winning combination.
Probable XI: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Dinesh Karthik (c/wk), Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna
Kings XI Punjab:
Though he bowled the game-changing 16th over in KXIP’s defense of 184, Sam Curran was expensive for a frontline pacer. And if KXIP’s pre-match optional nets is anything to go by, Tye is back and raring to reclaim his spot as the leader of their pace attack, as harsh as it might be on the Englishman. Miller and Karun were the other two star attractions and, by the looks of it, likely to walk into the playing XI. Nicholas Pooran and Mandeep Singh could likely be the ones making way, respectively.
Probable XI: Chris Gayle, KL Rahul (wk), Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller, Mandeep Singh/Karun Nair, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Andrew Tye, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ankit Rajpoot
Head to Head in IPL
Overall: Matches – 23, Kolkata Knight Riders – 15, Kings XI Punjab won – 8.
The highlight of the two meetings between KKR and KXIP last season was the run fest Indore.Each one of the Knight Riders batsmen who got a hit in the middle had a proper crack at the KXIP bowling, powering KKR to 245-6 – the highest total of VIVO IPL 2018. A total of 24 fours and 15 sixes were hit in the KKR innings. KXIP themselves put on a good show in the run-chase – but they could only get as far as 214-8.