🏏IPL 2023: Match 68 - LSG vs KKR on 20/05/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

🏏IPL 2023: Match 68 - LSG vs KKR at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 20/05/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

Tag & Logo Credit: Sevenstreaks

Top-two finish not out of Super Giants' reach as they face KKR at Eden Gardens

KKR are not out of the playoffs' race yet, but theirs is a slim chance, made worse by their poor net run-rate

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.

As for KKR, there's only a small chance that they can squeeze into the playoffs. Their negative net run-rate - made worse by the thumpings from Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings at home - makes things even more complicated for them. They not only need a huge win but also a number of other results to go their way.

Their win over CSK in the reverse fixture in Chennai was a rare occasion of them clicking with both bat and ball in the same game. They will hope for an encore, and then pray.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants Pitch Report

The pitch at Eden Gardens in Kolkata provides equal opportunity for both batters and bowlers to make a mark in the game. There will be some swing on offer for the seamers initially, while the spinners will come into play in the latter stages of the game. The batters need to adjust to the pace and bounce before going for the shots.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants Weather Forecast

The temperature in Kolkata on Saturday is expected to hover between 28 to 36 degrees Celsius.

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.

KKR and LSG played only 2 matches so far and LSG won both times.

Kolkata's Eden Gardens will play host to tonight's battle between KKR and LSG. The head-to-head record between Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants at Eden Gardens stands at 0-0.

Form guide - (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Kolkata Knight Riders WLWWL 

Lucknow Super Giants WWLLL

Team news

Umesh Yadav is not 100 percent fit and with World Test Championship final slated for June, it's unlikely that he will play for KKR. For LSG, Jaydev Unadkat has been ruled out of the remainder of the IPL due to shoulder injury. Batter Suryansh Shedge has been named his replacement.

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

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

Stats that matter

• Andre Russell hasn't had a good season so far, and it could get worse for him. Russell has managed only 59 runs from 52 balls - a strike rate of 113 - against spin this season, while being dismissed four times. Also, the spinners' economy rate of 8.45 at Eden Gardens is a lot better than the 9.81 pace bowlers have. Add to that the prospect of three out of Krunal, Bishnoi, Mishra and Swapnil Singh in the LSG side on Saturday evening, and Russell could be in trouble.
• Among all batters who have faced at least 35 balls during the last four overs this season, Stoinis' strike rate of 214.28 is the second best. And with the same filter, Rinku Singh's 16 sixes during that phase are three more than the second-placed Tim David and Shimron Hetmyer.
• The short boundaries at Eden Gardens mean it has the second-highest run rate (11.19) from overs 17-20 of all grounds that have hosted at least three games this season. However, KKR and LSG's scoring rate in this phase has been low: 9.61 each.
• KKR's pace bowlers have an average of 41.34 and an economy of 10.27 this IPL. Both figures are comfortably the poorest among pacers from any team.

Team Watch

Kolkata Knight Riders

Injury/Unavailability: None reported

Tactics and Matchups: Deepak Hooda and Marcus Stoinis have had trouble picking up Andre Russell's variations, with 4 dismissals in 20 balls for just 8 runs between them. The LSG batters have had no answers to Sunil Narine either, with only one in four of their batters striking at over 100 against him - Deepak Hooda.

Probable XII: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy

Lucknow Super Giants:

Injury/Unavailability: Suryansh Shegde has replaced replaced Jaydev Unadkat in the LSG squad for the rest of the season, as the Saurashtra pacer sustained a shoulder injury during training.

Tactics and Matchups: Quinton de Kock has an average of 37 against Kolkata Knight Riders, at a strike-rate of 152, including a stunning 70-ball 140* against them in the 2022 season - one of the most incredible IPL knocks.

Although recency bias is valid in this case, outside of this knock, de Kock's average falls to a paltry 21 against KKR. However, de Kock has his KKR bowlers he targets - against the spinners (Narine and Chakravarthy), he strikes at 100 and 126 respectively, but he more than makes up for it against the pacers, scoring 89 off 37 at a strike-rate of 240 against Russell, and 44 off 31 at 142 against Shardul.

Probable XII: Quinton de Kock (w), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Prerak Mankad, Krunal Pandya (c), Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi, Swapnil Singh, Mohsin Khan

What to expect: A typically true surface at the Eden where the powerplay and the death overs are likely to belong to the batters, and the bowlers will typically have a chance to make a comeback in the middle overs.

The surfaces have held up pretty well throughout, and lately it's been the KKR spin trio of Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine that have rediscovered how to bowl at the Eden. They've started to make the difference, bowling miserly spells at the Eden, and forcing the batters into false shots and giving away their wickets.

Did You Know?

- The Rinku-Rana pair has been prolific in run-chases this season: Rinku has scored three fifties in six innings, for 238 runs, at an average of 119, and a stunning strike-rate of 167. Rana has three fifties in six innings too, with 279 runs at an average of 55.8, and a strike-rate close to 150.

- Although Andre Russell hasn't been at his best this season, he strikes at a stunning 193 at the Eden Gardens, with 797 runs in 30 innings. Of the 220 runs he's scored this season, he has scored 102 of them in sixes.

- Nicholas Pooran has scored 20 runs in 11 balls against Shardul Thakur, but has also been dismissed three times by him