Squads –
KKR –
Dinesh Karthik (c), Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Chris Green, Eoin Morgan, M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik, Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Tom Banton, Varun Chakravarthy
KXIP –
KL Rahul (c & wk), Arshdeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Darshan Nalkande, Krishnappa Gowtham, Hardus Viljoen, Harpreet Brar, Jagadeesha Suchith, Karun Nair, Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Murugan Ashwin, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Jordan, Deepak Hooda, Glenn Maxwell, Ishan Porel, James Neesham, Prabhsimran Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Sheldon Cottrell, Tajinder Dhillon
Team News –
KKR –
– Knight Riders won their last game against the Mighty Capitals by 59 runs. They played fearless Cricket and won a big game without Andre Russell.
– Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, Lochie Ferguson and Pat Cummins will be their 4 foreign players.
– Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana will open the innings. Gill is scoring runs but at a very slow pace. Rana is a very attacking Batsman and after a terrible form this season scored a brilliant 81 of 53 balls.
– Captain Eoin Morgan will bat 2 down. He is one of the best hitters in world cricket and but is demoting himself too much.
– Dinesh Kartik and Sunil Narine will bat in middle . Kartik has been playing attacking Cricket from last few games but is struggling against spin. Narine smashed 64 at a strike rate of 200 last game.
– Sunil Narine will lead the spin attack along with Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. Varun has been bowling brilliantly this IPL and took a 5-fer last game.
– Pat Cummins, Lochie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna/K Nagarkoti and Andre Russell(if fit) will be leading the pace attack. Lochie took 7 Wickets in last 3 games.
KXIP –
– Kings XI are at the 5th position now with 4 back to back wins over RCB, MI and DC and SRH They need to win all their games to qualify and are playing fearless cricket.
– Chris Gayle, Nicolas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell and Chris Jordan will be their likely 4 foreign players to start.
– Rahul will open with Mayank Agrawal/Mandeep Singh. Rahul is the highest scorer this season and had a rare failure last game according to his standards. Mayank has been very fluent with his shots and is 3rd highest scorer this season but didn’t played last game.
– Chris Gayle will bat 1 down. Gayle made his arrival by scoring 53 against RCB and 2 quick 23 and 29 against MI and DC in last 3 games.
– Nicolas Pooran will bat at 2 down. He is a exciting talent and has the ability to clear the fence with ease. He has been in brilliant touch recently.
– Glenn Maxwell will bat 3 down. Deepak Hooda will bat next. Hooda played a brilliant cameo of 23 against MI. Maxxi didn’t bowled last game and is also struggling to score runs.
– Ravi Bishnoi and Mujeeb will lead the spin attack.
Maxwell will also bowl some overs. Bishnoi has been excellent with his bowling as a youngster.
– Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Chris Jordan will lead the pace attack. Jordan is a very good death bowler. Jordan and Arshdeep took 3 while Shami took w Wickets each last game.
Probable XI –
KKR –
Subhman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik (c, wk), Sunil Narine, Lochie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna/K Nagarkoti, Varun Chakravarthy.
KXIP –
KL Rahul(c), Mayank Agrawal/Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Nicolas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda/Mandeep Singh, Chris Jordan, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin
Pitch Report –
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
The Sharjah ground has very small boundaries and pitches also are batting favourable resulting in a high scoring encounter.
Average Score : 170( IPL 2020)
Team Blueprint –
WK –
L Rahul( Opener + wk, currently best T20 Batsman in world cricket, 567 runs in 11 games this IPL, Must C/VC)
N Pooran( 2 down, very hard hitting batsman, can be promoted any day, 53(28b), 32 last 2 games, Must have)
Dinesh Karthik ( 3 down, had a decent IPL 2019 with 242 runs at a SR of 143, poor record against spin team season)
BAT –
Chris Gayle( Opener, no intro needed, 53(45b),24(21b),29(13b) last 3 game, Must have)
Eoin Morgan ( 3 down, English team t20 captain, 6000+ t20 runs in 271 games, experienced but Batting very low, 17(9b) last game)
Shubman Gill( Opener, very talented, can play big innings any game, 294 runs in 13 innings last IPL, poor run from last few games + at low strike rate)
Tom Banton ( Opener/2 down, strikes the ball at 154 in t20s, very good form , 71,20,46 in 3 t20s against Pak)
Nitish Rana ( Open, very excellent domestic season along with 350 runs with SR of 143 last IPL, 81(53b) last game)
Rahul Tripathi ( 1 down , very attacking batsman, scores most of his runs in boundaries, 81(51b) against CSK, poor form after that Innings)
Mayank Agrawal(Open, SR of 142 last IPL , excellent player of spin, 398 runs in 10 games this tournament, Must have if plays )
Mandeep Singh( 2/3 down/open, very good Syed Mushtaq trophy with 3 50+ scores striking at 155)
Deepak Hooda ( Lower middle order+ part time off spin, decent option at 8cr)
Sarfaraz ( middle order, can be used as a floater for hitting, very good domestic form)
ALL –
Andre Russell ( 3-4 down + 2-3 overs of pace, one of the best hitters in t20 cricket, 510 runs at SR of 202 in IPL 2019 also 11 Wickets with bowl , risky this game also )
Sunil Narine ( Any position + off spin, mystery spinner, very experienced, 380+ T20 Wickets with 10 in last IPL, 60(30b) last game)
Glenn Maxwell ( 3 down+ 3-4 overs of off spin, century against England recently, have completely failed this IPL, 32* last 2nd game )
Jimmy Neesham ( Middle order + Medium pacer, hard hitter of ball, failed with both bat and bowl this IPL, 1w last game played)
BOWL –
Pat Cummins ( Pacer, world class bowler, 98 t20 wickets on his name, bowls at 145+ ks, 1w in last 6 games, team 2w last game )
Mujeeb ( Off spin, mystery bowler, one of the best t20 bowler, 16W in 11 CPL games, didn’t played last game)
S Cottrell ( Left arm fast, known for his pace and bounce, 6 Wickets in 6 games this IPL, not a good death bowler )
M Shami ( Right Arm fast, hit the deck bowler, Wicket taker, 19 Wickets last IPL, 18 Wickets in 11 games, Must have)
Kuldeep Yadav ( Chinnaman, mystery bowler and a must have choice from KKR, 115 t20 Wickets in 92 innings, just 1w in 3 games, didn’t played last game )
Lochie Ferguson ( Pacer, raw pace, bowls over 145+, 3 Wickets + 2 Wickets in super over against SRH, 1w last game )
Chris Jordan ( Right Arm Medium Fast, best death bowler currently in world cricket, 3w and bowled with good economy last game played)
Ishan Porel ( Medium pacer, 13 t20 Wickets in 13 games, u19 player, got good pace)
Ravi Bishnoi( Leggie, bowls fast spin, excellent domestic record, 1w last game )
Murugan Ashwin ( Leggie, good bowler, bowls most if overs as googly, 1w last game )
Arshdeep Singh( Left arm pacer, bowling brilliantly in last 4 games, 3w last game, Must have)
P Krishna ( Pacer, raw pace, bowls upto 145ks, poor last IPL with just 4 Wickets in 12 games)
K Nagarkoti ( Pacer, bowls with an average pace of 144, 11 Wickets in 9 list A games, wicketless but was bowling beautifully)
S Mavi( Pacer, eco in very high close to 10, 7 Wickets in 6 games, death bowler for KKR, didn’t played last game)
M Siddharth( Slow left arm, 5 Wickets in tnpl 2019, can also bowl in powerplay)
Varun Chakravarthy ( Leg spin, mystery bowler with lot of variations, 5 Wicket last game, Must have )
C/VC Options –
KKR –
Eoin Morgan
Shubman Gill
Nitish Rana
Andre Russell
KXIP –
KL Rahul
Mayank Agrawal
Chris Gayle
Nicolas Pooran