Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl first against Lucknow Super Giants in the 53rd match of the IPL 2022 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, here on Saturday.
Two-time champions KKR, who have won four out of their ten games so far, made one change in their playing XI as Harshit Rana came in place of injured Umesh Yadav.
“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,” said Iyer at the toss.
“It has not been a great start for us but we are coming on the back of a good win. Looking forward to having a great one here. I want to convert the starts I am getting and play to the situation rather than thinking about my form,” he added.
On the other hand, the K.L Rahul-led Lucknow, who have won seven out of their ten matches so far, also made one change and brought Avesh Khan in place of K. Gowtham.
“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,” said Rahul.
“That’s what gives us confidence and that’s what we want to be as a team, performing as a team and not relying on one or two players. We have had a couple of days break, the body is fresh and looking forward to going out there and giving our 100 percent,” he added.
Playing XIs:
Lucknow Super Giants: 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: Aaron Finch, Baba Indrajith (w), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, Harshit Rana
(Inputs from IANS)