After three successive defeats, the Punjab Kings put their campaign back on track with a nine-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians. On the other hand, time is running out for Kolkata Knight Riders who are going downhill with poor form of their key players. With the move to Ahmedabad now, finding the right combination and consistency will be imperative for both sides. After the Kolkata Knight Riders' latest defeat - against the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday - their captain Eoin Morgan urged his batters to show intent throughout the innings, After two fifties to start the campaign, Nitish Rana has had a few failures while Rahul Tripathi has blown hot and cold. The main concern for KKR is that their star player at the top - Shubman Gill - is yet to deliver.
Punjab might think of bringing in Jhye Richardson or Riley Meredith for Fabian Allen, although both the Australian pacers were expensive at the start of this IPL. Gayle has been dismissed five times by Harbhajan Singh, who has an economy of 6 against the left-hander, so the veteran spinner is likely to feature in the playing XI. Chris Gayle has the second-best average and the second-best strike rate among the top five run-getters against KKR, all of whom have scored 700 or more. Gayle's 54 sixes is also the most by a player against KKR. Shubman Gill has three half-centuries in five innings against Punjab, having scored 209 runs at an average of 104.50.- Sunil Narine has bagged 28 wickets against Punjab - the second most against the side after Umesh Yadav's 29 wickets. Narine's 28 wickets have come at an average of 18.18 while he has an economy of 6.97 against Punjab. A loss for Kolkata will more or less make it difficult for them to make it to the top four.
