IPL 2016, KKR vs KXIP Playing 11: Probable XI for Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab (Confirmed Playing 11)

KKR have enjoyed a successful run in this year’s IPL

#Update

CONFIRMED KINGS XI PUNJAB XI: Murali Vijay (C), Manan Vohra, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Wriddhiman Saha(WK), Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Swapnil Singh.

CONFIRMED KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS XI; Gautam Gambhir (C), Robin Uthappa (WK), Manish Pandey, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Brad Hogg, Piyush Chawla, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav.

 

 

The 32nd match of the VIVO IPL 2016 will see the action shift to the Eden Gardens in Kolkata for an encounter between home side Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab. Both teams have different tales to tell as far as their IPL campaigns are concerned. While KKR has stayed in the top half of the table for the most part of the season so far, KXIP have remained stuck at the 8th position for quite some time now. The Kolkata team has been in rampaging form so far with 5 victories in 8 matches. On the other hand, the Punjab side has continued its poor run from last year's IPL with 5 losses in 7 games.  Although the Kings managed to register an impressive win against table-toppers Gujarat Lions in their previous match, they will be up against it when they take on the Knight Riders in their own backyard.

Also read: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) IPL 2016 Live Cricket Score & Ball by Ball Commentary

Here's a look at the likely side which will represent the Kolkata Knight Riders in the match:

Batting

Skipper Gautam Gambhir has been in incredible form for KKR this season with 339 runs at an average of just over 56 and 3 fifties against his name. His opening partner, Robin Uthappa, has provided him very good support by scoring 243 runs in 8 innings and stitching together some valuable partnerships at the top of the order.

Among other batsmen who have done a decent job for the Knight Riders are Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav and Andre Russell. Pathan has been particularly impressive, scoring 146 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of close to 172. Some problem areas in terms of the Kolkata batting are the form of Shakib Al Hasan and the struggles of BBL superstar Chris Lynn.

Also read: IPL 2016, KKR vs KXIP Playing 11: Probable XI for Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab 

The two-time IPL champions will need to fix some of the gaps in their batting before the business end of the tournament gets underway.

All-rounders

The performance of the KKR all-rounders has been quite a mixed bag in this edition of the IPL. The best of the lot till now has been Russell, who has scored 133 runs in 6 innings and also picked up 9 wickets. Shakib has not done justice to his all-rounder tag in this year's IPL as he has failed with the bat despite being pretty good with the ball. The Knight Riders will require a stronger performance from their all-rounders in order to maintain their impressive run this year.

Bowling

The bowling department has not given the Kolkata Knight Riders too many problems in the 9th season of the IPL. Almost all their bowlers have been among the wickets and pacer Umesh Yadav leads the way with 10 wickets in 8 matches. Andre Russell is their 2nd most successful bowler with 9 wickets, followed by Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Morne Morkel who have claimed 6 wickets each.

Although the Kolkata bowling attack has done quite well in terms of taking wickets, they have been guilty of giving away too many runs in the final overs in the past few games. KKR should ensure that they address the few problem areas in their bowling as the race for the playoffs intensifies.

Probable Playing XI

Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav.