Will Kolkata Knight Riders be able to avenge their loss against Chennai Super Kings? © IANS
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) take on table-toppers Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 Match 30 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. KKR lost a low scoring thriller on Tuesday against CSK and have a chance to extract revenge for their two-run loss immediately. Dutchman Ryan Ten Doeschate almost took KKR over the line but with 17 required off the final over, it looked like a huge task as Gautam Gambhir’s men fell tantalisingly short. IPL 2015 Highest run-scorer: List of best batsmen in IPL 8
This win took CSK over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the points table. CSK have been the most consistent team in IPL 2015 without a shadow of doubt. They have a balanced side and with Dwayne Bravo chipping in with three wickets in the previous match. Ravichanrdan Ashwin could bowl only two overs as he seemed to have injured his finger during the run of play, not before he picked up crucial wickets of Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey. The injury will keep him out for at least two games. IPL 2015 Highest wicket-taker: List of best bowlers in IPL 8
KKR are currently in third place with seven points in as many games and will be gunning for a win in this match. Gambhir has more often than not provided KKR with an ideal start and will look to do the same along with Uthappa at the top. They have enough firepower and depth in their batting to get them to a huge total. They are well backed by their bowlers as well. The decision to play Brad Hogg against CSK paid dividends as he was the most economical bowler of the side. His place in the playing XI is almost assured after this stellar performance. KKR have options like Morne Morkel, Azhar Mahmood and Kuldeep Yadav at their disposal as well. IPL 2015 Most 6s and 4s: List of most dangerous batsmen in IPL 8
Ashish Nehra is the joint highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 13 wickets. Many were critical of CSK when he was purchased at the auction. However, he has turned out to be CSK’s best player this season. CSK will want their top three to go on a big score and with their deep batting line-up a score of 200-plus in every match can be achieved easily. IPL 2015 Leading fielders: List of Best fielders in IPL 8
The previous match between RR and KKR was rained out at this venue and there are chances of rains interrupting play even in this match. A point will be shared between the teams if that scenario arises. The defending champions will hope that it does not happen again. IPL 2015 most dismissals by wicketkeeper: List of best wicketkeeper in IPL 8
Squads:
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Michael Hussey, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo, Irfan Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Mithun Manhas, Pawan Negi, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Matt Henry, Rahul Sharma, Andrew Tye, Ashish Nehra, Pratyush Singh, Ankush Bains, Ronit More, Baba Aparajith, Eklavya Dwivedi, Samuel Badree, Kyle Abbott.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Sunil Narine, Manish Pandey, Robin Uthappa, Umesh Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Ryan ten Doeschate, Kuldeep Yadav, Morne Morkel, Azhar Mahmood, Johan Botha, KC Cariappa, Piyush Chawla, Pat Cummins, Aditya Garhwal, Brad Hogg, Sheldon Jackson, Sumit Narwal, Veer Pratap Singh, Vaibhav Rawal, Suryakumar Yadav.
Time: 20:00 IST | 02:30 GMT
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)