Buoyant Knight Riders aim to consolidate top spot

Sunday, May 8, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

It's a top-of-the-table clash at Eden Gardens. Kolkata Knight Riders are at No. 1 with six wins in nine matches. Gujarat Lions have an equal number of wins, but have played an extra game and are smarting from three successive defeats.

Lions' struggles are best exemplified by their last three Powerplay scores - 26 for 3, 35 for 3 and 36 for 2. Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum's failures have added more pressure on a middle order that has yet to fire. And if they were thinking of slotting Aaron Finch back at the top, there is doubt over his fitness again. Finch struck his fourth fifty in six matches in Hyderabad, but did not take the field for the chase.

While Lions have a few key batsmen out of form - Suresh Raina has only one fifty in 10 innings and Dwayne Bravo has barely been striking at a run a ball - Knight Riders' depth has served them well.

Gautam Gambhir, who has opened up his stance, and Robin Uthappa have strung five fifty-plus partnerships this season. When they tripped up, against Royal Challengers Bangalore for example, Andre Russell and Yusuf Pathan bashed 96 off 44 balls to secure an unlikely victory.

Russell topped that with a breathtaking spell against Kings XI Punjab and with Morne Morkel's pace and bounce from the other end, Knight Riders have the Powerplay covered.

Piyush Chawla has been tidy in the middle overs, with eight wickets in eight games at 23.75. The only worry for the hosts is Sunil Narine's form and fitness. So far, Narine has been predictable; the ball isn't spinning both ways anymore. He's also nursing a finger injury.

Kolkata Knight Riders WWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Gujarat Lions LLLWW

Bravo and Chawla are currently tied with 117 IPL wickets. Returning from injury on Friday, Bravo impressed with his slower balls again, but managed only 18 off 20 balls with the bat. Lions will want more from Bravo with the bat.

Chawla, meanwhile, has mixed his legbreaks and googlies well, and will relish bowling at Eden Gardens. He has 13 wickets in 11 matches for Knight Riders at this venue.

If Sunil Narine needs more time to regain fitness, Knight Riders are likely to persist with left-arm wrist spinner Brad Hogg.

Kolkata Knight Riders (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir(capt), 2 Robin Uthappa(wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Brad Hogg/Sunil Narine, 10 Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav

Lions may consider including James Faulkner if Finch has aggravated a hamstring injury he suffered last month. Left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan, who leaked 28 runs in two overs on Friday, is likely to make way for batsman Ishan Kishan or left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati.

Gujarat Lions (probable): 1 Dwayne Smith, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Suresh Raina(capt), 4 Dinesh Karthik(wk), 5 Aaron Finch/James Faulkner, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Pradeep Sangwan/Ishan Kishan/Shadab Jakati, 9 Praveen Kumar 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Shivil Kaushik

The Eden Gardens surface has traditionally been slow and favours spin. Sunday is expected to be a warm day, with chances of showers in the afternoon.