The second match in the Indian Premier League on Sunday sees the top two sides in action as the Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Gujarat Lions at the iconic Eden Gardens with top spot very much on the line.
The winners will leave the Gardens sitting two points clear at the top and likely to top the table at the end of the season while the losers will have some work to do to secure their spot in the playoffs so this is a big match.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Andre Russell came to the fore again for the Knight Riders last time out as they returned to winning ways with a fairly routine win over the Kings XI Punjab side. If Russell finds form in all three disciplines this side are going to take a lot of beating.
The batting depth the Knight Riders have has served them well throughout the campaign so far and the variety they have in their bowling attack is probably unmatched by any side in the tournament with the possible exception of the Delhi Daredevils.
Gujarat Lions
It is all beginning to go wrong for the Lions. After blazing a trail at the beginning of the season they have now lost three matches on the spin and are losing form at the worst possible time. A win here would restore their form and back up their early season work.
The balance of the side hasn’t been right in recent games and Gujarat need to get that back as quickly as possible. Dwayne Bravo’s injury a game or two ago didn’t help and neither has Aaron Finch’s. The openers’ loss of form is another concern.
Team news
There are doubts over Sunil Narine for this match but the wily spinner hasn’t offered the mystery or the goods that he usually does so his absence might not be what it once would have been. Brad Hogg is an able replace if that is the route the Knight Riders go down.
Aaron Finch couldn’t field in the previous match amid concerns he’s gone lame again. In a weird way that might not be a bad thing even though he top scored in that match as James Faulkner or even someone like an Andrew Tye might benefit the balance of the team.
Form
Kolkata Knight Riders: WLWWWLLWW
Gujarat Lions: WWWLWWWLLL
Head to head: First meeting
Eden Gardens
This is the fourth match of the tournament on this ground. We’ve seen throughout the event that the wickets here are turning but that isn’t stopping the batsmen from scoring runs.
One of the reasons for that is the short straight boundaries and the more matches played here the more chance of matches being on the edges of the square so the boundaries in theory are only going to get shorter. That might make for another high scoring game here.
Betting
I can’t be backing the Lions at the minute. I haven’t been able to back them for a while in fairness but that was down to the balance of the side. Now they have the problem of their powerful openers, a source of so many of their runs, being out of nick and suddenly Gujarat look very vulnerable to me.
That leaves me siding with the Kolkata Knight Riders. They don’t really have a weakness. If they do it is probably in their early bowling but are Smith and McCullum in the form to take advantage of that? I’m not sure they are.
Kolkata are batting with quality a fair way down their order and they have Andre Russell back among the wickets. They can squeeze any side in the middle overs and are getting it together at the death again. I think they’ll take plenty of beating here and I’m not sure they will be beaten.
Tips
Back Kolkata Knight Riders to beat Gujarat Lions for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Coral
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