look news india
In the IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders will host Punjab Kings at their home ground Eden Gardens. The opening pair of Kolkata openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt has been excellent for Kolkata in the current season. This pair has scored runs at an average of about 12 runs per over and is the third fastest run-scoring pair. Thanks to these two, Kolkata scored about 11 runs per over in the powerplay. Salt has scored runs at a strike rate of 176 against fast bowlers and 138 against spinners. In the middle order, Andre Russell scored a total of 408 runs against Punjab at a strike rate of 200. This is his highest strike rate against any team. Russell has hit 79 sixes so far at Eden and controlling them will be a big challenge for the Punjab bowlers. How Russell performs against Harshal Patel will also be interesting as Harshal has dismissed him four times.
The poor form of batting against Punjab, especially the top order, is a matter of concern. Opener Shikhar Dhawan is fit and is likely to play against Kolkata. This season its top five batsmen have scored a total of 794 runs in eight innings. Then players from sixth to eighth have scored 487 runs at an average of around 35. Punjab batsmen will face a tough test against Kolkata's spin attack.
