Under pressure KKR seek momentum

KKR players celebrate a Rajasthan Royals wicket at the Wankhede Stadium recently. Pic/BCCI; IPL

With eight points in the kitty and just four games to go, Kolkata Knight Riders would be under pressure to deliver as they take on in-form Lucknow Super Giants in a crucial league game at the MCA Stadium here on Saturday. After a good start to their campaign, KKR lost five games on the trot, and find themselves in the eighth spot on the points table going into Saturday's game. They ended their losing streak by beating Rajasthan Royals in their last game, but the KKR boys know there is still plenty of work to be done.

Five opening combinations

And it begins with the opening partnership. Throughout the season, KKR have struggled to get a rocking opening partnership, and it has hurt them in the final outcome. The Shreyas Iyer-led outfit has tried as many as five opening combinations in the 10 games so far. It started reasonably well for KKR, with the designate opening pair of Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer adding 43 runs for the first wicket in their season opener against the Chennai Super Kings. But that was followed by partnerships of 14, 14, 16 and 21, before the team think-tank lost patience. The team management has since then tried Aaron Finch-Sunil Narine, Sam Billings-Sunil Narine, Aaron Finch-Venkatesh Iyer and Baba Indrajith-Aaron Finch as the opening combo.

KL Rahul

Middle-order woes

But neither of these combos have added even 20 runs for the opening wicket, which means that the middle-order has always been put under pressure. The original designate openers - Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer - have both lost their spot in the playing XI and KKR have some serious thinking to do. With five wins from 10 games, KKR are in a near must-win situation now. And the team management will be hoping that the win against Royals turns into a winning streak. Lucknow Super Giants, with 14 points from as many games as KKR, have a foot in the Playoffs. They will be keen to make their position on the points table even stronger with a win on Saturday.

Lucknow will also take

confidence from the fact that the last time they played here, they ended up defending a modest total of 153 with ease. The ball has been gripping and stopping a bit on the Pune pitch for the past few games, and spinners from both sides will have a major role to play.