After suffering two defeats in a row, Kolkata Knight Riders will look to get their Vivo IPL 2019 campaign back on track as they face Chennai Super Kings at 4 pm today at Eden Gardens.
A batting collapse against CSK in Chennai and being unable to defend a par total against Delhi Capitals costed us dearly just a night ago.
The points table is wide open for top six teams. Skipper Dinesh Karthik and his Knights will look to strengthen their position to finish in the top four and will take this game as a do-or-die match as we are halfway into the tournament.
Head to Head
KKR: 7 | CSK: 12 (Overall)
KKR: 4 | CSK: 4 (At Eden Gardens)
Two bad results in last two matches, surely DK and co. have a lot to ponder ahead of Sunday's afternoon clash against MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings.
KKR 3-0 CSK in last three meetings
Not everything is so dark as it seems for KKR. They have got better off CSK at Eden Garden in their three previous encounters. Last time KKR lost to CSK in Kolkata was way back in 2013.
CSK has the lowest win percentage (40) at Eden Garden than any other venues. DK should also be wary of the fact that all three wins came while chasing down totals.
KKR News:
The loss against CSK in Chennai was an eye opener for the team. The batsmen didn't chip in despite Andre Russell finishing the innings in style. Against Delhi Capitals, we didn't put enough on board as per Skipper Dinesh Karthik’s during post match press conference.
The team definitely missed Sunil Narine's experience in the previous match. While Kuldeep Yadav has been economical, he is yet to take a wicket in middle overs this Vivo IPL. KKR can't let the toss decide the match results. All three losses came while defending (against DC it went to the super overs).
CSK News:
If we go by Dhoni's words after RR vs CSK match, we are expecting some changes to their playing eleven. Already at the top of the points table, CSK can afford to test their bench strength.
CSK has a very similar bowling attack as ours. With three spinners in Harbhajan, Jadeja and Tahir, the clash between the two sides can go down to the wire.
Teams:
KKR: Dinesh Karthik (C & WK), Carlos Brathwaite, Sandeep Warrier, Kuldeep Yadav, Shrikant Mundhe, Harry Gurney, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Nikhil Naik, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna, Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Chris Lynn, Rinku Singh, KC Cariappa, Joe Denly, Prithvi Raj Yarra, Robin Uthappa
CSK: MS Dhoni (C & WK), Imran Tahir, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Scott Kuggeleijn, Sam Billings, David Willey, Murali Vijay, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Narayan Jagadeesan, Suresh Raina, KM Asif, Shardul Thakur, Dhruv Shorey, Mohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, Monu Kumar, Dwayne Bravo, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Karn Sharma, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Mitchell Santner
Last Five Meetings
KKR 2-3 CSK
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Date & Time: Sunday, 14th April 2019, 4 PM
