Previous match-winner Coulter-Nile rested for Pune clash

Either Shakib Al Hasan or Trent Boult is likely to replace the Australia fast bowler as Kolkata Knight Riders look to reclaim the top spot

The Preview by Sreshth Shah

25-Apr-2017

Match facts

Rising Pune Supergiant v Kolkata Knight Riders
Pune, April 26, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

3:56

Hogg: Tahir at his best with old ball

Head to head

Overall

Kolkata Knight Riders chased 66 (D/L adjusted target) and 161 to win both at home and away against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016.

In the news

Knight Riders will be without Nathan Coulter-Nile, who in their previous game took three wickets to bowl Royal Challengers Bangalore out for 49, which is the lowest total in IPL history. The 29-year old seamer has not travelled with the team to Pune, with captain Gautam Gambhir citing workload management as the reason.

Coulter-Nile's absence means either Shakib Al Hasan or Trent Boult could return to the team. Colin de Grandhomme hasn't fired with the bat but his three-wicket haul on Sunday has boosted his chances of retaining his place.

Who is the best choice as Coulter-Nile's replacement?

1 votes

Trent Boult

Shakib Al Hasan

Rovman Powell

The likely XIs

Rising Pune Supergiant 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Rahul Tripathi, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Ben Stokes, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Dan Christian, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Imran Tahir, 11 Jaydev Unadkat

Kolkata Knight Riders 1 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa (wk), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Yusuf Pathan 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Trent Boult/Shakib Al Hasan, 11 Kuldeep Yadav

Strategy Punt

Overall in the IPL, Sunil Narine smashes spin at a strike-rate of 233 but pace at only 126. But this season, with his promotion to opener, he has smashed fast bowlers for 93 runs off 53 deliveries. So perhaps there is a case for Rising Pune to take pace off the ball and use Imran Tahir or Washington Sundar against him.

Stats that matter

MS Dhoni has struggled against Sunil Narine in T20s. He has managed only 27 runs off 54 balls.

Manoj Tiwary has scored 139 runs off 82 balls, at a strike-rate of 167.07. He has been dismissed only three times in his last nine T20 innings, and has been hitting a boundary every four balls.

Ajinkya Rahane has smashed Umesh Yadav for 54 runs in 38 balls without ever being dismissed in the IPL.

Knight Riders have taken 28 wickets between overs 7 and 15, ten more than their closest rivals Sunrisers Hyderabad. Six KKR bowlers have taken three or more wickets during the middle overs, with Woakes' tally of six being the highest.

KKR's quicks have been the most productive in the league. They have taken 34 wickets at an average of 19.82. On the other hand, Rising Pune's seamers have managed only 24 wickets at an average of 32.54.

Spinners have been more effective than seamers at MCA stadium this season. They have given away only 6.97 runs per over, taking a wicket every 19.42 runs. Seamers have leaked 9.50 runs an over, taking a wicket every 42.61 runs.

Rising Pune Supergiant Kolkata Knight Riders India Supergiant vs KKR

Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

PLAYER NAME		R	B
SP Narine	run out	16	11
G Gambhir	caught	62	46
RV Uthappa	caught	87	47
DM Bravo	not out	6	5
MK Pandey	not out	0	0
Extras	(lb 4, w 9)
Total	184(3 wkts; 18.1 ovs)

PLAYER NAME	O	R	W	Econ
JD Unadkat	3	26	1	8.66
SN Thakur	3.1	31	0	9.78
Washington Sundar	3	32	0	10.66
DT Christian	4	31	1	7.75
Imran Tahir	4	48	0	12
RA Tripathi	1	12	0	12

WKT	RUNS	PLAYERS
1st	20	Gautam Gambhir	Sunil Narine
2nd	158	Gautam Gambhir	Robin Uthappa
3rd	1	Gautam Gambhir	Darren Bravo
4th	5	Darren Bravo	Manish Pandey

TEAM	M	W	L	PT	NRR
MI	14	10	4	20	0.784
RPS	14	9	5	18	0.176
SRH	14	8	5	17	0.599
KKR	14	8	6	16	0.641
KXIP	14	7	7	14	-0.009
DC	14	6	8	12	-0.512
GL	14	4	10	8	-0.412
RCB	14	3	10	7	-1.299

Previous match-winner Coulter-Nile rested for Pune clash

Match facts

Head to head

In the news

The likely XIs

Strategy Punt

Stats that matter

Partnerships of the week - Gambhir, Uthappa dominate Pune with 158-run stand

Back my stock ball, googly a variation to take wickets - Kuldeep

Have immense faith in my batting - Uthappa

Uthappa, Gambhir help Kolkata grab top spot

Supergiant missteps

'Wasn't afraid of bowling to Dhoni' - Kuldeep

'We thought 180 was a good total' - Rahane

Bangar: Uthappa deflated the Tahir threat

Indian Premier League