Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to host Lucknow Super Giants in their fourth home game in the ongoing IPL 2025. Both teams have incurred a similar path heading into the contest at the iconic Eden Gardens, winning two each in four games, leaving them in the middle of the IPL points table, only to be separated by net run rate. Both teams also secured a victory in their respective previous games – KKR beat Sunrisers at home by 80 runs, while Lucknow stunned Mumbai Indians at the Ekana Stadium.
Time for Kolkata to do away with Narine experiment
When Gautam Gambhir had returned to Kolkata Knight Riders last season in the role of a mentor, he reinstated Sunil Narine’s old role of being a pinch-hitter at the top of the order. And the move did wonders for KKR, who eventually went on to lift the title. While KKR stuck to the strategy even as Gambhir moved on from the franchise to take over a bigger role, of mentoring the Indian men’s team, Narine has looked scratchy and inconsistent, raising questions over his role at the top.
After the middle order showed a resurgence in the game against Sunrisers last week, with their costliest buy Venkatesh Iyer finally delivering and Rinku Singh making a vital contribution, Kolkata’s only headache has been their misfiring opening partnership. The opening duo of Quinton de Kock and Sunil Narine has struggled to give them the flying starts that Phil Salt provided last season. Their highest stand this season has been 44 runs while the openers have managed 4, 1, and 14 in the other games.
Hence, Kolkata could likely move on from their Narine experiment and give youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who gas caught the eye with his fluency and textbook technique, a go alongside de Kock.
KKR likely XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Misfiring Bishnoi to be benched
Ravi Bishnoi was Lucknow’s best bowler last season, picking 10 wickets in 14 games at an economy rate of 8.77. This is why he was retained for INR 11 crore. But the India leg-spinner has had a forgettable start to the season, where he picked just three wickets in four games, conceding at a shade under 12 runs per over. In fact, in the middle-overs, where he usually dominates, Bishnoi has gone for over 12 runs per over.
With Digvesh Singh Rathi having proven his worth, with his control over length and clever variations, picking six wickets at an impressive economy rate of 7.62 in just two games, Lucknow might want to look past Bishnoi and pick another spinner in his stead, probably Shahbaz Ahmed.
Lucknow’s likely XI: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (C & WK), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Rathi.
