IPL 2019 – Match 6: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab – KXIP Predicted Playing XI

The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will fly to Kolkata from Jaipur for their next duel in the tournament after the controversial ‘mankaded’ win against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). The team managed to grab a win from the jaws of a defeat and thus added two important points to their tally. However, defeating the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won’t be as easy for the franchise from Punjab.

The hosts have registered a terrific win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and are quite high on confidence. Most of their players are in great form and the side has ticked most of its boxes in their first game. While facing such tough opposition, the KXIP team might have to tweak around a little bit with their eleven depending on the conditions. Their bowling attack seemed slightly weak in the last match.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP):

Openers (KL Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle)

Even after all this while, KL Rahul still doesn’t seem to be at his best. It was quite evident that he was tentative around the off-stump and seemed to be in two minds. He smashed a glorious four first up but couldn’t really capitalise in the game against the Rajasthan Royals. Rahul has got to be decisive with his shots and it will be quite a test for him at the Eden Gardens. The right-hander could also be back to his normal wicket-keeping duties in this game.

The fans expected the Universe Boss to go bonkers towards the end of the innings in the last game. He did disdain a delivery but it went straight to the fielder. Nevertheless, he is in great form which is a great sign for the KXIP. Chris Gayle should enjoy batting at Kolkata where the ball comes onto the bat nicely.

Middle Order (Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, David Miller)

Mayank Agarwal batted at three for Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He timed the ball well against the Royals but took quite a while to get going. He couldn’t capitalise on the start and perished after scoring 22 off 24 balls. He is expected to continue playing the anchor’s role but will want to score his runs at a greater pace this time. Sarfaraz Khan came as quite a surprise package in the last match. Not many backed him to get into the playing XI but he played a gem of a knock.

His scoops behind the wicket were a treat to watch and he will continue to bat at four. KXIP’s batting will be bolstered with David Miller in the next game. The left-hander has been in good form in the series against Sri Lanka and could take up the finisher’s role. This would mean that Nicholas Pooran will have to sit out. We didn’t get to see much of Mandeep Singh in the last match. He hit one four in the two balls that he faced and will be itching to get going if the opportunity comes.

All Rounders (Sam Curran)

It took some time for the nerves to settle in Sam Curran’s maiden IPL outing. In the biggest of T20 leagues, Curran went for plenty in his first two overs. But he did manage to bounce back well towards the end and applied breaks on the opposition with some important wickets. Curran’s services with the bat weren’t required and the youngster could get another game under his belt before the management arrives at a conclusion.

Bowlers (Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammed Shami, Ankit Rajpoot)

Ravichandran Ashwin will be back on the field after stirring a major controversy in the last game. He bowled well in that match and will share the spin bowling responsibilities with Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The Afghan bowler is great even when the field is up and might get them one or two wickets early on.

In the pace department, Mohammed Shami and Ankit Rajpoot will be the other two bowlers apart from Curran. Both of them conceded 33 runs each in the last match but Ankit had two wickets to his name. Shami will hope to fill his wickets column as well in the upcoming encounter as he’s been in some great form of late and bowled well in the death.

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