Kings XI Punjab wins toss elects to bat first

Kolkata, May 25 (UNI) Kings XI Punjab won the toss and chose to bat first in the DLF-IPL T20 cricket match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardes here tonight.

While the Punjab team had already cemented their place in the semis after winning a cliff hanger against Mumbai Indians and then Deccan Chargers, the Kolkata team, led by Sourav Ganguly, was literally in shambles and is completely out of contention, and tonight's match was nothing but a mere formality for the host team.

Kings XI now ranked second in the table with 18 points from 12 matches, while the Kolkata Knight Riders have 11 with points from 13 matches as their last match against Delhi Daredevils was washed out following rain and both teams were awarded one point each.

The host team effected two changes, bringing in opener Akash Chopra and Sri Lankan Ajantha Mendis in place of Mohd Hafeez and Ajit Agarkar, while the visiting team brought in James Hopes, replacing Luke Pomersbach.

Kings XI Punjab : Yuvraj Singh (Skipper), Mahela Jaywardane, Shaun Marsh, James Hopes, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Power, S Sreesanth, V R V Singh, Tanmay Srivastava, Kumar Sangakkara (Keeper) and Pijush Chawla. Twelfth Man : Luke Pomersbach.

Kolkata Knight Riders : Sourav Ganguly (Skipper), Salman Butt, Debabrata Das, David Hussey, L R Shukla, Wriddhaman Saha (Keeper), Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda, Akash Chopra, Umar Gul, Ajantha Mendis.

Twelfth Man : Tatenda Taibu.

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