Pune, April 26: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered a thumping 82-run victory in their previous encounter as they bundled a start-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore side to 49 in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017.
With 5 wins from 7 matches played so far, Kolkata are placed second in the points table and are considered top contenders for the play-offs. (RPS likely XI Vs KKR)
The KKR will now face and upbeat Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in the latter's backyard. RPS have registered three consecutive wins in the tournament and would be eager to maintain their winning streak.
But, the two-time champions, KKR look a much settled and balanced side. They shocked all with their all-round win over RCB in their previous game.
KKR pacers completely demolished the RCB batting line-up and picked up all ten wickets in just 9.4 overs. Skipper Gautam Gambhir would be expecting a similar performance from his bowlers.
However, KKR's batsmen didn't perform as expected against RCB as they were restricted to 131 but kudos to their bowlers for putting such an impressive show.
Will KKR skipper Gambhir make any changes to the Playing XI or retain the same winning combination against Pune?
KKR's dark-horse Sunil Narine has surprised everyone with his batting performance and his presence would strengthen the side. Therefore KKR would think of playing with the same Playing XI, fielded against RCB.
Here is the likely KKR XI against RPS for tonight's encounter
1. Sunil Narine
2. Gautam Gambhir (Captain)
3. Robin Uthappa (Wicketkeeper)
4. Manish Pandey
5. Yusuf Pathan
6. Suryakumar Yadav
7. Colin de Grandhomme
8. Chris Woakes
9. Nathan Coulter-Nile
10. Umesh Yadav
11. Kuldeep Yadav
Kolkata Squad: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Darren Bravo, Trent Boult, Piyush Chawla, Nathan Coulter Nile, Colin De Grandhomme, Rishi Dhawan, Sayan Ghosh, Shaikb Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Ishank Jaggi, Kuldeep Yadav, Chris Woakes, Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Ankit Rajpoot, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Uthappa (wicketkeeper) and Umesh Yadav.
OneIndia News