Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab, both have won three of their 4 matches played. The two have proven themselves to be the strongest contenders for winning the IPL title. Both the teams must be high in confidence after winning a couple of their previous matches.
Speaking of the strong points, both the teams happen to have the kind of power hitters, IPL is famously known for. Chris Gayle made the announcement of his arrival, loud and clear with his two exceptional innings in last two consecutive matches. Gayle hit a stupendous 104 run knock off just 63 balls and sent a wave of a thrill to the audience in the stadium.
Both the teams have variety as well as variation in their bowling department but they have struggled on the ground in stopping the opposition batsmen. The two captains in this match – Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin – have read the game well, have been aggressive with their decision making, and have impressed with how they’ve utilised the resources at their disposal.
Chris Gayle has now won KXIP two matches in a row, and his performances would have not only set expectations among fans and within the team but also set fear among bowlers. The reason why he is considered among one of the most powerful hitters of the ball is that Gayle hit only 1 four but 11 sixes in his last match. Adding 70 runs by boundaries exclusively.
Among the KKR, all the eyes would be on Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell who has been hitting the ball hard as well. Also, Sunil Narine proved his ability to hit massive shots in the very first match KKR played. The match between the two teams will be a batting treat for the cricket fans.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Dinesh Karthik (C) (W), Piyush Chawla Tom Curran Cameron Delport Ishank Jaggi Mitchell Johnson Kuldeep Yadav Chris Lynn Prasidh Krishna Sunil Narine Nitish Rana Andre Russell Javon Searles Shivam Mavi Shubman Gill Rinku Singh Robin Uthappa Vinay Kumar Apporv Wankhade.
Kings XI Punjab
Ravichandran Ashwin (C), Akshdeep Nath Mayank Agarwal Mayank Dagar Ben Dwarshuis Aaron Finch Chris Gayle Manzoor Dar David Miller Mujeeb Ur Rahman Karun Nair Axar Patel Lokesh Rahul (W) Ankit Rajpoot Pradeep Sahu Mohit Sharma Barinder Sran Marcus Stoinis Manoj Tiwary Andrew Tye Yuvraj Singh.