Big picture: LSG close to playoffs spot
Placed third currently with 15 points, Lucknow Super Giants’ road to the playoffs is a straightforward one: win against Kolkata Knight Riders and sail through. And if Chennai Super Kings lose to Delhi Capitals, LSG could even secure a top-two finish. But if they lose, they will require at least one of Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore to lose.
LSG are playing away from home but they are coming off back-to-back wins after just one victory in the four completed matches before that. Marcus Stoinis led the way with match-defining performances in both those wins, while there were handy contributions from stand-in captain Krunal Pandya and legspinner Ravi Bishnoi, too.
Form guide
Kolkata Knight Riders WLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Lucknow Super Giants WWLLL
Team news
Both KKR and LSG should have all players available for selection.
The big question
They have both been crucial for their sides this season, but which of them has been better?
152 votes
Impact player strategy
KKR might continue using Venkatesh Iyer and Suyash Sharma as their impact players, depending on whether they bat first or bowl first.
Kolkata Knight Riders (probable XII): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Venkatesh Iyer, 4 Nitish Rana (capt), 5 Andre Russell, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Shardul Thakur, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Vaibhav Arora, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Suyash Sharma
LSG could look to substitute out Prerak Mankad or Ayush Badoni for either Yash Thakur or Amit Mishra, depending on how the pitch behaves.
Lucknow Super Giants (probable XII): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Deepak Hooda, 3 Prerak Mankad, 4 Krunal Pandya (capt), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Nicholas Pooran, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Naveen-ul-Haq, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10, Swapnil Singh, 11 Mohsin Khan, 12 Yash Thakur/Amit Mishra
Stats that matter
Pitch and conditions
It rained in Kolkata in the build-up to the match, and intermittent showers are expected during the game too. Eden Gardens has proved to be a high-scoring venue, with 200 being breached four times in six games.
Quotes
“Home advantage is not a question of pitches. It is about winning games. We should have won the games we played [at Eden Gardens]. Pitches have changed; nobody can give a guarantee on them.”
KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit doesn’t think pitches at home have been unfavourable for his side
Himanshu Agrawal is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
