IPL 2019, KKR Vs KXIP Preview: Chris Gayle Takes On Andre Russell In Power Hitting Spectacle

The sixth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) is expected to be another cricketing spectacle as two Jamaican big hitters — Andre Russell and Chris Gayle will lock horns with each other on Wednesday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. But the focus will also be on visiting captain R Ashwin who sparked off a controversy for mankading Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler in their first match.

On Sunday, chasing a target of 182 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, KKR were staring at defeat when they required 53 runs off their last three overs. Andre Russell with his four fours and four sixes along with young Shubman Gill, who smashed two sixes off the last over of renowned all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, changed the entire scenario as KKR emerged victorious in the nail-biting encounter.

Russell smashed an unbeaten 49 from 19 balls as he displayed pure power hitting skills. Left-handed batsman Nitish Rana was also instrumental in this dramatic chase as he scored 68 off 47 balls. KKR would want to carry their momentum ahead as they face KXIP on Wednesday.  After this encounter against KXIP, KKR will embark on a four-match away journey and will return back to their fortress when they face Delhi Capitals on April 12.

KXIP, on the other side, would look to breach KKR’s fortress with Jamaican Gayle looking in supreme touch. The 39-year-old with his flamboyant innings of 79 in 47 balls gave a positive start to the KXIP’s campaign. The Universe Boss, who will hang his boots after the 2019 World Cup, has recently found his lost touch, as he smashed 39 sixes in the recently concluded five-match ODI series against England and set the record for most sixes by a batsman in International cricket.

Being a former KKR player, Gayle will be well versed with the conditions and the dimensions of the ground. It is to be seen how the left-handed opener will take on the spin attack of KKR comprising of Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla. With a debate raging over the ‘mankading runout’, it remains to be seen how Ashwin and team start afresh in what will be their first away match of the season.

Mankading Incident

With the mankading incident being the talk of the town, the fans will be eager to see how R Ashwin will silence his critics. R Ashwin mankaded a set Jos Butler on Sunday, thus sparking off a debate across the cricketing world if it was within the spirit of the game. It was this incident that led to a collapse in the batting order of Rajasthan Royals as they succumbed to a 14-run defeat to KXIP.

Buttler seemed to be carrying his heroic form from the previous edition of IPL as he amassed 69 from 43 balls and Rajasthan were cruising towards their target of 185. But, his dismissal opened up the gates and Royals ended up losing 8 wickets for 62 runs, which handed KXIP their maiden win in Jaipur.  Though the dismissal was within the norms of the game, It attracted debatable controversy across the cricketing world. Spin legend and Rajasthan Royals brand ambassador Shane Warne labelled this incident as "disgraceful" and against the spirit of the game.

 Head to Head and other key numbers:

Previously, KKR has faced KXIP for 23 times, off which KKR has enjoyed the upper hand. KKR has won 15 of those games, while KXIP have managed to win 8. Given the advantage of the home ground, KKR will hope to keep their healthy track record.

- KKR’s best position in IPL: Winners in 2012 and 2014
- KXIP’s best position in IPL: Runners-up in 2014
- Highest individual score in this fixture: Wridhiman Saha (KXIP)- 115* in Bengaluru (2014)
- Best bowling figures in this fixture: Sunil Narine (KKR)-5/19 in Kolkata (2012)
- Most runs in this fixture: Gautam Gambhir (KKR) - 492
- Most wickets in this fixture: Sunil Narine (KKR) - 26

When and how to watch:

Date: March 27 (Wednesday), 2019
Time: 8 PM IST
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
TV guide: Star Sports Network
Live streaming: Hotstar

Expected Eleven:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (c), Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell,  Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav,  Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson.

Kings XI Punjab: R Ashwin (C), Chris Gayle, K L Rahul, Mayank Agrawal, Mohammed Shami, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan,  Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Mandeep Singh, Mujeeb Ur  Rahman

 Squads:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (c), Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Nikhil Naik, Joe Denly, Shrikant Mundhe, Nitish Rana, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, KC Cariappa and Yarra Prithviraj.

Kings XI Punjab: R Ashwin (C), Sam Curran, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Nicholas Pooran, Moises Henriques, Hardus Viljoen, Darshan Nalkande, Sarfaraz Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Agnivesh Ayachi, Harpreet Brar, Murugan Ashwin, Chris Gayle, Andrew Tye, K L Rahul, Ankit Rajpoot, Mandeep Singh, Simran Singh, Mayank Agrawal, Karun Nair, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and David Miller.