Pune: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the toss and elected to field against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Saturday in the 53rd match of the Indian Premier League here at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. Harshit Rana has replaced Kolkata ace fast bowler Umesh Yadav. In Lucknow side, Avesh Khan will feature in the team.
At the toss, Lucknow captain KL Rahul said, "We haven't played too many games here. From whatever we have seen on the TV, it has been sticky and hasn't been a high scoring venue. But it gives us a good opportunity as a batting unit to come out and put up a competitive total on the board. We have to assess the conditions and put a challenging total on the board. We have one change - Avesh comes in for Gowtham."
While Kolkata captain Shreyas Iyer said, "We will look to bowl first. Considering the wicket which looks dry and dew is not going to play a massive role on this ground. We also chased pretty well in the last game. We have got one change, unfortunately Umesh pulled his calf muscle and Harshit Rana comes in. It is really important as a captain to have a great combination right from the first game but there are so many injuries and niggles you have to keep chopping and changing, but that is part and parcel of the game. It has not been great start for us but we are coming on the back of a good win. Looking forward to have a great one here. I want to convert the starts I am getting and playing to the situation more than thinking about my form."
Teams:
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), KL Rahul(c), Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Ayush Badoni, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Aaron Finch, Baba Indrajith(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, Harshit Rana
