The final round of matches in the Indian Premier League begin on Wednesday when the Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Lucknow Super Giants in what is a big match for both sides at the DY Patil Stadium.
Courtesy of their good net run rate, the Super Giants are in a good position to reach the final stages of the competition even if they lose here but the Knight Riders not only need to win but need to win big to move into fourth and then hope results for the remainder of the week go their way.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The Kolkata Knight Riders haven’t really put a good campaign together. Some of that is a hangover to last season when they were beaten in the final, a contest many had them down as favourites to win given their run going into that match, while some of it is that the conditions at the four stadiums used this term don’t necessarily suit their strengths. To their credit though, Kolkata have won their last two matches by massive margins and something similar here could yet see their season get extended.
You would imagine this contest will be all about how they go with the bat. They are up against a decent bowling attack and given the need to not just win but win well they are going to have to take a few risks with the bat, that is unless they bowl first and can restrict Lucknow to something which could be chased down within 16-17 overs rather than the 200 sort of scores which will need the full 20. Either way, for Kolkata to still have this opportunity from where they were two matches ago is a fair effort.
Lucknow Super Giants
The Lucknow Super Giants have been in and around the top of the table throughout the campaign but have just started to find the going a little tough at the wrong time. They have lost their last two matches by a pretty sizeable margin and although they are probably still likely to qualify for the latter stages whatever happens here, you get the feeling they need to win this match for their own confidence. The other benefit to winning is that they could still finish second so they have plenty to play for.
The Lucknow batting has been the problem in those two latest outings. They were rolled over by 82 against the Gujarat Titans and then only scored 154/8 against the Rajasthan Royals last time out. It goes without saying that they need to bat better to get what they want to out of this match. If they are able to do that then they still have a bowling unit which is hard to get after. One thing which will give them confidence if they won the reverse fixture between these two by 75 runs.
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Key Players
Andre Russell took 2/22 and belted 45 in no time in the reverse meeting between these two sides. With the need to win well for Kolkata Knight Riders you would imagine the West Indian will need to show up with the bat at the very least.
Avesh Khan took three wickets in that earlier fixture between these two sides including the big wicket of Andre Russell. If he can bowl his four overs well in this match and put the pressure on the Knight Riders to take even more risks then he’ll go a long way to winning the game for his side.
Betting
These matches can be a little awkward to bet on when a team doesn’t just need to win but needs to win by a certain margin in order to bolster their net run rate but at the same time that gives us a way in here. That means that I expect Kolkata Knight Riders to come out swinging with an everything that is pitched up must go attitude and as such I expect the likes of Nitish Rana to go up the order a little and they might even open with Sunil Narine and given him some licence to go on the attack.
Brendon McCullum teams rarely need a second invitation to go on the attack and they will certainly have that here. You can get a Kolkata sixes line at 6.5 for this match and even when they got shelled out for 101 by the Super Giants in the reverse fixture they still clobbered six sixes. This is not a big ground and while the innings scores aren’t necessarily as eye catching here as they are at the other grounds, the sixes tallies add up. With the likes of Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and potentially even someone like Sam Billings or Aaron Finch swinging for us I think we’ll get Kolkata beyond 6.5 sixes here.
Tips
Back Kolkata Knight Riders – Over 6.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Betfair
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