IPL 2019 – Match 47: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians – KKR Predicted Playing XI

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) would have never imagined that they’d lose six games in a row, especially after the start that they got in the tournament. As the tournament has progressed forward, they have realised that they’ve been over-reliant on Andre Russell. The team has made some changes, tried different possible combinations in the last few matches.

But nothing seems to be working for them. Even a terrific knock from captain Dinesh Karthik couldn’t save their day when they faced the Rajasthan Royals in their last game. Now, the playoff place is in jeopardy for KKR and they will have to win every game from here to give themselves the best possible chance. However, winning against the Mumbai Indians (MI) won’t be easy and a few changes look certain in the lineup.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR):

Openers (Chris Lynn, Shubman Gill)

KKR has limited itself to a very small squad this season and thus they do not have many options to look at. Hence, despite the inconsistencies, they must continue to Chris Lynn in the eleven. The Australian cricketer bagged a duck in the game against the Rajasthan Royals.

The Knights made a good move by sending Shubman Gill to open the innings in the last game. It is now the time to persist with this opening option for a long time now. The 19-year-old looked good in the last match and hit two boundaries early on. However, he could only score 14 runs before Varun Aaron bowled a beauty to castle him.

Middle Order (Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c)(wk), Rinku Singh)

Nitish Rana was yet another disappointment in the last match. He crawled his way to 21 runs from 26 balls but forms an important part of the KKR side. He is an exceptional talent but has got to work a bit on his temperament. Once he gets his eye in, the left-hander can be lethal.

Dinesh Karthik finally got back into form in the last game. Although he scored a fifty earlier this season, he failed to carry on with the momentum. But the last game was something exceptional. He hit the ball all around the park and was a treat to watch. Karthik remained unbeaten on 97 – his highest T20 score but was unfortunate not to have got to a century. Rinku Singh came way too down the order in the last game and didn’t get many balls to face. He might get another opportunity in this game.

All Rounders (Andre Russell, Sunil Narine)

Andre Russell has had a lot of problems with his wrist this season. The way he hits the ball, it is bound to be subjected to a lot of pressure. This also affected his power-hitting in the previous game. He struggled to hit the ball hard and was dropped twice. However, he didn’t cause much of a damage to the opposition and scored just 14 runs. Even though he is carrying several niggles, he will surely continue in the eleven.

Sunil Narine was demoted down the order and batted at number five. He does well against the spinners and this should be a good position to bat for him. However, he couldn’t stay in the middle for long as a terrible call from DK resulted in his run out when he was on 11. There was some spin on offer and hence he looked dangerous with the ball. The Caribbean cricketer picked up two wickets.

Bowlers (Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Yarra Prithviraj, Matthew Kelly)

Piyush Chawla was the best KKR bowler in the last match. In a game where the opposition was scoring over 8.50 runs per over, the leg-spinner brought out his top quality game. He dismissed the likes of Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson and Stuart Binny. However, his efforts went in vain. The Eden track seems to be worked up a bit and there is assistance for the spinners now. Thus, Kuldeep Yadav might come back into the eleven.

He’s had enough time to evaluate where he went wrong. The chinaman is likely to replace Prasidh Krishna who has been one of the most expensive bowlers this season. KKR might look to provide more opportunities to Yarra Prithviraj. He didn’t have the best of outing in the last match and conceded 28 in his two. Also, Matthew Kelly could be roped in place of Carlos Brathwaite. The Australian seems a much better option to operate at the death.

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