Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir would look to seal a top two finish against Kings XI Punjab on Tuesday. Image Source: Xtra Time[/caption]Internet Desk: A confident Kolkata Knight Riders will look to seal a top 2 finish as they take on Kings XI Punjab in a Indian Premeir League match in Mohali on Tuesday. The two time champions Knight Riders are already guaranteed a place in the play-offs courtesy their convincing six-wicket win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday.
The two time champions are now placed in the second spot in the points table with 16 points from 12 matches. Mumbai Indians currently heads the points table with 18 points from 11 matches.
A resurgent Knight Riders gave enough evidence about their strength against a struggling RCB. Chasing a modest 159 for victory on Sunday, KKR made it easy, racing to 105 for no loss in just six overs, for a record IPL powerplay total.The purple army achieved the target with 29 balls to spare.
Sunil Narine scored the joint fastest fifty in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL). The Caribbean batsman reached the landmark in only 17 balls. Australian batsman Chris Lynn also scored a blazing 50(22 balls) to announce his arrival after being ruled out due to a shoulder injury he sustained in the first match. Both the KKR openers made a mockery of the target as they raced to 105 runs in the powerplay.
Ahead of the Play-Offs, Gautam Gambhir and his team will look to address a few areas in the game against Punjab. The KKR middle order comprising of Colin de Grandhomme, Yusuf Patha has failed to live up to the expectation. Both the batsmen will look to score some runs to get back the confidence.
Glenn Maxwell-led KXIP, on the other hand, have a slender chance to make it to the play-offs as they have only five wins from 11 matches and are placed at the fifth spot with 10 points. They now need to win all their remaining three matches if they have to have any chance of making it to the knock-out stage.
Punjab’s chances of a play-offs berth were severely dented by their six-wicket defeat at the hands of Gujarat Lions last night. The home side were on a roll with back-to-back wins, but defeat at the hands of Gujarat Lions caused a serious dent to their play-off hopes.
Despite posting 189 for 3 on the board, courtesy opener Hashim Amla's century, KXIP bowlers failed to restrict Gujarat Lions, who rode on a 39-ball 74 by their top batsman Dwayne Smith. KXIP were also sloppy on the field, giving two lives to Smith.
Inconsistency has been KXIP's ban in the IPL and they again failed to rise to the occasion against Gujarat Lions in a match which they should have won. Now, every match they play will be a knock-out game. After KKR, they face formidable Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiant, which will make it an uphill task for them.
KXIP's South African import Hashim Amla has been their main batsmen with 400-plus runs, which includes two centuries -- against Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Lions.
The Kings batting has lacked consistency and that has been the biggest concern for Glenn Maxwell. In spite of batsmen like Martin Guptill, Shaun Marsh, Manan Vohra, Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel, the Kings batting has been woefully caught struggling.
A lot will depend on Kings XI Punjab captain Glenn Maxwell and in-form Hashim Amla, if they want to stop a rampaging Knight Riders.
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