The news of Sunil Narine’s action being reported again would have come as a distraction for Kolkata Knight Riders amid their preparation for the home game against Rajasthan Royals, but judging on how their campaign has gone till now, they are in slightly better state than they were in the Champions League T20 last year when they lost Narine just before the final. With their fast bowlers – Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav – in good wicket-taking form, Narine’s lack of wickets has not affected them. In Johan Botha and Azhar Mahmood, they have two experienced T20 campaigners waiting to fill in the gaps. The issue, however, is still grating and it will be interesting to see how Knight Riders respond.
Royals, who lost two out of their three home games in Ahmedabad, are now on the move again and wouldn’t mind a Narine-less attack. The Eden Gardens pitch this year will also be to their liking; it has a good for batting this year, unlike the slow-turner it used to be. But after being strangled by Royal Challengers Bangalore, they need to prove to themselves that their policy of not holding back with the bat is one worth holding on to.
Form guide
Kolkata Knight Riders LWWLW (last five matches, most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals LLWWW
Watch out for…
Gautam Gambhir has been in top form this season as well. With three half-centuries, he is already the team’s leading run-scorer, and has helped keep one end solid every time Robin Uthappa has fallen early. The most-prolific four-hitter in the IPL, he is also just one hit short of becoming only the third batsman to reach 3000 IPL runs.
The day Tim Southee was running through the England side during the World Cup, Chris Morris was helping Lions take a first-innings lead in Johannesburg with a fifty after a wicketless spell the previous day. Two months later, he is now the lynchpin of the Rajasthan Royals bowling attack and has pipped Southee as the first-choice seamer. He has been good both at the start and the end of the innings, bowling with pace, and without, as per team needs. His angle and bounce will be key in neutralising the prolific Gambhir.
Stats and trivia
Deepak Hooda has faced 56 balls in this IPL, the same number as Stuart Binny and Karun Nair, but has scored 117 runs, 55 and 46 more than the other two. Sanju Samson has faced 73 deliveries, but has scored only 68 runs
Gautam Gambhir has the most fifties in all Twenty20s without ever getting to a century. He is fourth overall for most 50-plus scores in T20 format
Quotes
“We have the firepower, we have the guys who can take the score to 200 in the back end of the game. The starts have been excellent so far; we messed up only one start so far. ”
Stuart Binny on Rajasthan Royals’ batting
