The Kolkata Knight Riders are a successful team when their batter, Sunil Narine, performs well. In the Indian Premier League, his performance as a pinch hitter has been an exception. Not only have very few teams succeeded in that capacity, but very few have even attempted to replicate that approach using their available options.
For a few seasons, Narine’s pinch-hitting approach was successful; nevertheless, his vulnerability to quick and short deliveries was eventually exploited, turning him into a liability at the highest level. However, he came back in 2024 with a more potent bat and used some big top-strike hits to blow the game wide open for his team. As he approaches his sixth game of the year, he leads all powerplay players in runs scored (127) and strikeouts (201.59). He has also made sure that his team has been the most effective when field restrictions are in place, averaging 54.4 runs at a run-rate of 11.33, well ahead of the second-best team, the Mumbai Indians.
Additionally, his exploits have made up for Phil Salt, his opening partner,’s otherwise mediocre performance. However, Gautam Gambhir, the team’s coach, isn’t worrying just yet about the English batter’s efforts. “It’s a team game,” he asserts, adding that individual accomplishments are not as important as the team’s success. He provides a comparable defense for Mitchell Starc, another of their foreign players who hasn’t played much this season despite attracting unprecedented interest at the auction.
Although Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora, two domestic pacers from India, have provided the spinners with enough help to cover for Starc, they would still prefer that their large auction purchase materialize sooner rather than later. After a 22-day absence and a six-day break, they will be back at Eden Gardens, where they will look to start the Bengali New Year with a victory for the home crowd and build momentum for the remaining three home games.
The injured Lucknow Super Giants, who have struggled mightily and are trying to gain ground without Mayank Yadav, will face them first. This team has never suffered a loss against KKR. The most recent of these firsts for the KL Rahul-led team this season was their incapacity to hold a total of more than 160 against the Delhi Capitals in the previous game.
Gambhir knows a little bit about what makes them tick, having spent the last few years in their camp prior to his ‘homecoming’ this year, but he is reluctant to go too far into the past. Poila Baisakh is here, and he’s hoping for a new beginning.
When: 3:30 PM IST on Sunday, April 14, 2024
Where: Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India; IPL 2024; Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Lucknow Super Giants
What to anticipate: This is Kolkata’s inaugural afternoon match of the year. It is likely to be quite hot and very muggy. The winning side may choose to bat first if there is no chance that dew will be involved. Since the 2023 Indian Premier League, Eden Gardens has been the second-highest scoring venue (where at least three games have been played). Thus, anticipate numerous runs.
Comparatively, KKR 0–3 LSG. Even though LSG batted first in all three of their games and won, the margin of victory has gotten smaller with each subsequent game.
Collective Eye:
The Kolkata Knight Riders:
Injury/Unavailability: Prior to the previous game, Gambhir had declared Harshit Rana to be fully healthy, however he was not used in that encounter. Nitish Rana was in practice as well. Other than that, there are no worries about injuries.
Strategies and Matchups: Since IPL 2023, LSG’s top order batsmen, Quinton de Kock, Ayush Badoni, and Devdutt Padikkal, have averaged 15.5, 11, and 8 respectively against left-arm pacers. It could be a good idea to give Starc a lengthy spell up front. De Kock has also had difficulty getting going when facing Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, the spin pair. Both of them might be useful choices in the powerplay.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sunil Narine, Phil Salt, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana/Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana/Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy are the probable members of the starting eleven. [Sub: Suyash Sharma for Impact]
Super Giants of Lucknow:
Unavailability/ailments: Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan, two of the fastest players, are still recovering from their individual ailments.
Strategies & Matchups: Ravi Bishnoi is among the very few bowlers who have managed to contain Rinku Singh and Andre Russell during the last overs. Not only has the leggie struck out the two batters once apiece, but they have also scored runs off of him with a strike rate of just 116.7 and 133.33, respectively. Bishnoi might be useful in the final overs.
Likely XI: KL [Impact Sub: M Siddharth/Devdutt Padikkal] Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Ayush Badoni, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshad Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq/Shamar Joseph, Yash Thakur
Were you aware?
Eden Gardens has the greatest scoring average (9.64) among stadiums that have played host to three or more matches since the IPL 2022 season began. With five first innings totals of 200 or more in ten games, the average first innings total is 195, second only to Mohali’s 198.
In the powerplay, KKR has the lowest number of wickets lost (5), the highest average (54.40), and the best RR (11.33).
Nicholas Pooran hit his 100th six in an IPL match against RCB. Only Andre Russell, who knocks a six per 6.7 balls, has a higher balls/six ratio (8.6).
What they expressed:
There’s no justification for discussing individual performance. Mitchell Starc has, in my opinion, performed passably. I believe he has bowled some difficult overs. Gautam Gambhir, the KKR mentor, said that he would make a difference and that’s why he was selected.
Although Mayank Yadav appears and feels fine, we don’t want to rush him. He’s dying to go, but we have to safeguard his body. Prior to his return, we must ensure that he is fully (fit). – KL Rahul, captain of the LSG
