The Knights will be hoping to go out all guns blazing in the final league match of the season as they host the Lucknow SuperGiants for the first time at the Eden Gardens.Needing a big win to improve the NRR and boost qualification hopes, the Knights have their task cut out against the side who are placed 3rd in the table.
The two sides haven’t faced each other in this edition of the IPL but last season saw the visitors win both the fixtures. After the Knights lost the first game by 75 runs, the 2nd encounter between the sides saw an enthralling contest which went down to the wire. Batting first LSG made 210/0 and in reply the Knights powered by an early half century by Shreyas Iyer 50(29) and some fiery late hitting by Nitish Rana 42(22) and Rinku Singh 40(15) almost made it home in the end. Needing 20 of the last over, Rinku brought down the equation to just 3 of 2 balls before he and Umesh were dismissed by Stoinis to wrap up one of the most intense games of IPL 2022.
𝙍𝙄𝙉𝙆𝙐 𝙎𝙄𝙉𝙂𝙃 - Remember the name! 👏@rinkusingh235 #AmiKKR #KKRvLSG #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/gZCsEMaEN0
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 18, 2022
A year later with Shreyas Iyer out to injury, Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana have admirably taken up the responsibility of the KKR middle order. Both the left handers have scored over 400 runs with Rinku emerging one of the most destructive finishers in the league. Up top, Jason Roy since coming in has been a force to be reckoned with smashing 240 runs in 7 innings at an SR of 150. The Knights will be hoping their batsmen are in full flow for the must win fixture against the SuperGiants.
The wicket at the Eden has traditionally helped the chasing teams and over the last couple of games, the track has significantly improved for shotmaking in the 2nd half. This makes the toss a crucial affair yet again with the Knights spinners expected to come into play. Both Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine had solid outings against the Super Kings at Chepauk last time round and will be looking to carry that form into this game. Vaibhav Arora who has emerged a pivotal death bowling option in the games that he has played will also be crucial in keeping the visitors down to a par score in case the Knights bat second.
With an outside chance to claim a playoff berth, the Knights have nothing to lose when they lock horns with LSG on Saturday. With the visitors also needing a win to seal their playoff spot, this one is shaping up to be one of the matches of the season.