IPL 2020 Match Preview KXIP vs KKR | Punjab have ‘everything to lose’,  Kolkata a lot to gain 

The only time the Kings XI Punjab made it to the final of the IPL was in the year 2014. Since then, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have had a stranglehold over KXIP, losing only three of their 14 clashes. When the two sides meet in Abu Dhabi for the first game of the October 10 double-header, Punjab will be hoping for a miracle—they have just one win from their five IPL 2020 games. Sitting at the bottom of the points table, one more defeat and it is almost good-bye to playoffs.

A tale of two captains

Dinesh Karthik has been struggling with the bat but has led KKR well. The way they snatched victory from the jaws of the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings was an example of a unit clicking well. 

In contrast, Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul is the top run-maker of IPL 2020 but his team has been a let-down, losing several close games.

The confused vs the confident

Regardless of his golden run with the bat, Rahul’s team has looked confused. Its choice of playing XI is especially baffling. The team has persisted with Glenn Maxwell, who has not even scored 50 runs in six matches, while “Universal Boss” Chris Gayle has been warming the bench, though head coach Anil Kumble did say that the Jamaican would have played the last game had it not been for food poisoning. 

KXIP tactics don’t seem to bear the imprint of one of India’s greatest match-winner and a gritty player that Kumble, who debuted as the head coach this season, was.

Despite Karthik’s struggle to find a fixed slot or some runs for himself, his side has got its players’ mix right. KKR haven’t hesitated to drop India spinner like Kuldeep Yadav and nor did they hesitate to promote Rahul Tripathi at the top of the order after just one good knock in the middle order. 

Bringing Sunil Narine in the middle order and exhausting Pat Cummins’ quota inside 11 overs are some of the decisions that reflect the flexible attitude of new head coach Brendon McCullum.

Death over difference

Karthik’s no-show and Andre Russell’s indifferent run in the death overs hasn’t stopped KKR from doing well and a lot of the credit goes to Eoin Morgan. With Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Narine, Shivam Mavi and Cummins all capable of a fiery cameo, KXIP will have their hands full—they have conceded nearly 14 runs per over in death overs despite last match’s terrific show by young pacers. For Karthik and Russell, there is no better opponent to find their form back.

Likely XI 

Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (captain), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran (wicket-keeper), Prabhsimran Singh, Mandeep Singh, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Sheldon Cottrell and Mohammad Shami.

 Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (captain, wicket-keeper), Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi and Varun Chakravarthy.

(Vimal Kumar is a senior sports journalist who has covered multiple cricket world cups and Rio Olympics in the last two decades. Vimal is also the author of Sachin: Cricketer Of The Century and The Cricket Fanatic’s Essential Guide.)

Follow Moneycontrol’s full coverage of IPL 2020 here