AGENCY
new delhi, MAY 6:
Faced with a must-win situation to keep their IPL 2025 playoff hopes alive, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will look to build on to the momentum received from the narrow one-run win against Rajasthan Royals, when they take on a hapless Chennai Super Kings in their final home match of the season at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.
With five wins and a no result from 11 outings, the Ajinkya Rahane-led outfit is currently at sixth in the IPL leaderboard, and have a great chance to get a couple of more points against already-ousted five-time champions CSK, languishing at the bottom with two wins from as many outings. The road to the IPL playoffs isn’t going to be cakewalk for the home side, as they not only need to win every game while maintaining a good NRR but would also be dependent on other results. With Gujarat Titans (14 points) and Delhi Capitals (13 points) already ahead of them, KKR will need to back themselves up to not only pick the six points on offer, but also at a better rate. After a topsy-turvy run in their own backyard, the home side has finally come to terms with the conditions at the Eden, as their middle and lower order raised hopes with fluent knocks against Rajasthan Royals. Andre Russell’s fifty in the last match was a glimpse into what he’s capable of and has delivered for the franchise over the years. However, with CSK boasting of Noor Ahmed in their ranks, the big-hitting right-hander’s abilities against quality spin could be tested.
Rinku Singh is another great finisher in the lineup.
A lot will depend on the start provided by the opening combo of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine in the first six overs before Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi carry forward the momentum and set the tone with a solid partnership in the middle, these two finishers can propel the Knight Riders to a big total. As the tournament heads into its business end, KKR will also expect Venkatesh Iyer to get a few big hits to regain his confidence.
One of the reasons for KKR’s inconsistency this season has been their bowling department with their pacers Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana leaking runs in the powerplay. As such, the onus will be on the spin trio of Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Moeen Ali to apply the brakes in the middle phase.
Meanwhile, for Chennai Super Kings, the losing streak refuses to end. They have come agonisingly closer to cross the line a few times this season but eventually felt short. The most recent example was their outing against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where young Ayush Mhatre’s 94 off 48 balls put the Super Kings in the driver’s seat in the run-chase but MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja failed to take the side home.
The time has come for CSK to move on to the next generation and plan the roadmap for the future by trying a few untested players in their final few matches of the season. Shaik Rasheed and Mahtre could be Chennai’s next generation of big-hitting top-order batters. There is great potential in these two.
While Jadeja came up with an impactful knock after a long time, the southpaw will once again be expected to shoulder the responsibility of finishing the innings. With Sam Curran also in good hitting form, the two can be a threat to the misfiring KKR pacers at the death. Shivam Dube and Dewald Brewis will also be expected to use the long handle against the spinners.
In the bowling department, Khaleel Ahmed hasn’t been as consistent with his economy or wickets and will expect good support from Anshul Kamboj and Matheesha Pathirana. It is not going to be an easy outing for CSK bowlers either. Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmed and Jadeja hold the key in their spin department.
Squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Luvnity Sisodia, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Mooen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markhande, Spencer Johnson, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Chetan Sakariya.
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (c&wk), Dewald Brevis, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Vansh Bedi, Andre Siddharth, Ayush Mhatre, Rachin Ravindra, Ravichandran Ashwin, VIjay Shankar, Sam Curran, Anshul Kamboj, Deepak Hooda, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Matheesha Pathirana.
