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IPL 2021 | PBKS vs KKR: Familiar territory for Morgan to get Knights back on track in Motera

Abhishek Singh

For the maestro that Eoin Morgan is with his strategy of relentless attack, the team hasn’t lived up to the potential as a batting unit, neither as a bowling unit. The fact that Morgan himself has let him down with the bat is also a huge problem. But with the tournament now moving to more familiar territory for the English captain at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, where he and his spent a lot of time playing the 5 matches T20I series and losing it narrowly 2-3. 

For Punjab Kings, though it would again be a fresh place to begin freshly and most importantly carry forward from their victory against the defending champions Mumbai Indians. Punjab in captain KL Rahul has an in-form opener and also with Mayank Agarwal and Chris Gayle showcasing the grit that they have, it can only get better for the men in flashy reds. 

Morgan could utilise the experience of Motera

Eoin Morgan with his experience of leading the English side at Motera could bring out plans and matchups that could help the Knight Riders bounce back. The problem at the moment for the team is its captain not clicking nor are its openers. Shubman Gill, in his attempt to accelerate, has rather derailed his form and that of the team as well. Russell, who looked tidy in the previous two games, failed to carry the form in the last game and similar was the problem with Dinesh Karthik. 

These are the guys who form the backbone of the men in purple and if they are not in form, it is hard for the team to do well. With the balance that the Knights have got, they can’t afford to bring in Lockie Ferguson and let either Russell or Narine remain out of the side, thus it becomes all the more important that Russell as a bowler is utilised more than his ability to bowl wide yorkers at the death. The likes of Prasidh Krishna and Shivam Mavi need to be utilised to their best as well. 

The resources are going to remain the same, it is the way they are being utilised that would matter for Knight Riders. With David Hussey predicting that Shubman Gill is going to be one of the highest run-getters this season, maybe this is going to be the game for his and KKR’ turn around. 

Punjab needs to go horses for courses

The Punjab team seemed to have gelled well as a bowling unit in their last two games. As a batting unit, they have mostly been fine. The Motera wicket is known to produce high scoring games and thus the likes of Gayle and Rahul could utilise their form over there. 

The fact that Joe Root and Jofra Archer, even Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur were able to cause some problems with their pace in the T20I series between India and England, fast bowlers might be given preference by the Punjab unit. The team could bring in either Riley Meredith or Jhye Richardson in place of Fabian Allen as in any case they would have the spin options of Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Hooda, in case the pitch decides to turn. 

Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Match Details

Match Number-21

Date and Time: April 26, 2021, 07:30 pm IST, 02:00 pm GMT

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera

Broadcast and Lve Stream: Star Sports and Hotstar

Pitch Report

With a high score of 224 and a low score of 124, the wickets at Motera have a range that wouldn’t let anybody pick a perfect score to defend. But mostly in the above 150 zone, the pitches at the newly built stadium offer a good cricketing ground, competitive enough for the fans to enjoy. 

The pitch though has mostly remained a bit tacky on the bounce side of it and thus offers the chasing team a bit of advantage if there is dew as it makes the bounce even later on. 

Weather and Toss

With temperatures soaring above 35, kt is not going to be easy for the players to adjust. There would be dew but not much of it. Since it is the first game at the ground, the best bet for the captaining winning the toss would be to field first to be on the safer side of things. 

Team News

Punjab Kings

Nicholas Pooran has not been in that great a touch and just to make good use of the conditions, Dawid Malan who has done well at this ground in his last outing with a 68 run knock, could be trusted with duties at number four. Similarly, a fast bowler could replace Fabian Allen as well to make things even for the team and in accordance with the requirements of the ground. 

Strongest XI

KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Dawid Malan, Deepak Hooda, Moises Henriques, Shahrukh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Riley Meredith, Arshdeep Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders

For Kolkata to make any change, it’s not an easy task. Going with how Eoin Morgan operates, it is hard to see him changing the side. The most likely change could be bringing in Harbhajan Singh because of his better approach against left-handers especially Gayle whom he has got out several times in the IPL. If Harbhajan comes in, Sunil Narine could make way for Lockie Ferguson as well. 

Strongest XI

Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Harbhajan Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson

Dream XI Predictions/ Fantasy XI Suggestions

Lokesh Rahul (c/wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nitish Rana, Shahrukh Khan, Andre Russell (vc), Deepak Hooda, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi

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SL vs BAN | 1st Test: Run feast in Pallekele ends in a draw after rain plays spoilsport

The first Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Pallekele ended in a draw after the final day of the game was curtailed by rain on Sunday. Bangladesh who batted first in what was a run feast at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium posted 541/7 (D) in the first innings. Opener Tamim Iqbal struck 90 while Najmul Hossain and captain Mominul Haque notched up individual tons during the course. While Hossain scored 163, Haque got out for 127. Apart from them, Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das also struck individual fifties for the side. Vishwa Fernando was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka in the innings after he scalped four wickets for 96 in 35 overs. The home side then rode on some scintillating batting from Dimuth Karunaratane who scored 244 and Dhananjaya de Silva who went on to score 166 during the course to put 648/8 in reply. Lahiru Thirimane also chipped in with a half-century for Sri Lanka while Taskin Ahmed bagged three wickets for Bangladesh and Taijul Islam picked up a couple. The hosts took a first innings lead of 107 runs. Bangladesh then came out to bat in the second innings on Day 5. The Lankan team did pick up two early wickets but opener Tamim showed his class and took on the bowlers to score 74* off 98. Fast bowler Suranga Lakmal had both the wickets to his name in the second innings before the match was halted by the rain and eventually ended as a draw. Karunaratne who was adjudged man of the match for his knock said that he had a struggling time in West Indies and wanted to score runs at home. “I had a very tough time in the West Indies, so I wanted to make the most of these conditions. We thought the wicket would have pace and bounce, but the conditions and heat made the pitch flat. Bangladesh batters also played really well,” he said. The encounter witnessed huge amounts of runs being scored and the Sri Lanka captain admitted that the track didn’t really have much to offer to the bowlers. “There was nothing much for the bowlers, it was a batting paradise. There was no threat for the batsmen in the second innings as well, nothing much we could have done on this kind of a wicket. We need something in the pitch for the bowlers (in the next game), because we need 20 wickets to win,” he added. Bangladesh skipper Mominul credited the team for their performance. “It was a team performance, everyone contributed really well, especially Shanto. Tamim and Mushy also played crucial knocks and the bowlers, especially Taskin and the spinners, tried really hard,” he said. The second and final Test will begin on April 29 at the same venue.

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IPL 2021: Virender Sehwag questions Sanju Samson's attitude on the field

Rajasthan Royals finally returned to winning ways against the Kolkata Knight Riders thrashing them by 6 wickets to win their second game of the tournament. Coming into the match on the back of three consecutive losses, Rajasthan had to turn their fortunes around and for that to happen their skipper Sanju Samson needed to lead from the front. Despite playing brilliantly and carrying his bat, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag feels that there are still issues lingering which the franchise need to address as quickly as possible. He further added that it is important for the captain to be more proactive on the field. He feels that Samson is lacking positive body language and it seems that his teammates are not too happy with him being named the captain. "Looking at his body language, his teammates don't appear too happy with him being the captain. But this is a fact that if a player remains in his own and suddenly, he is made the captain, it takes him time to talk to players, mix with them. So that I fell is proving to be difficult for Sanju Samson," Sehwag said about Samson on a video in Cricbuzz. Despite the victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders, Sehwag feels that Samson can do little things, making a huge difference at the top level. He also explained fact that how it is very important to bring every player together and make them gel as a unit. Samson was named the skipper of the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the tournament. “When a bowler gets taken for runs, it is important to see how the captain responds. I have noticed this with Rishabh Pant that he goes and keeps his hands on the bowler's shoulders and goes 'It doesn't matter. You'll get hit for 40-50. But bowl according to your field'," added Sehwag. "This helps the bowler retain his confidence in captain. Irrespective of what the result it, the captain should continue showing confidence of a bowler who is being taken for runs or even a batsman who isn't scoring runs,” Sehwag added.