KKR looking listless, Gambhir is frustrated: Gavaskar

Kolkata Knight Riders are hoping to overturn their fortunes at "home" they take on Kings XI Punjab on Friday night at the Eden Gardens. According to Sunil Gavaskar, the defending champions are looking listless with skipper Gautam Gambhir's frustrations written all over.

With just two wins from seven matches, KKR are desperately in need of a win. Mumbai India's thrilling victory at the Eden on Wednesday has had a damning effect on KKR's morale as their top all-rounder Jacques Kallis admits in his newspaper column. "The loss against the Mumbai Indians was the perfect illustration of how tiny the margins between victory and defeat," he wrote.

Kallis himself has been in indifferent form and the failure of the team's top players may see a few changes against Punjab tonight. Kallis writes in his column in the Times of India: "The age-old question in sport is when to make changes or whether to make changes. For every argument, there is a counter argument. 'Don't change a winning team' is an old adage, but what about making a winning team even better? Fix it before it breaks."

The burly South African says defeats have a negative effect on the team. "You start questioning everything, even the things that are working well...there is no time for negative thinking," he says in a bid to pump up KKR's morale.

Gavaskar is critical of KKR's body language and singles out Gambhir for 'special' mention. In his column, Gavaskar writes KKR are "looking listless and clueless on the field." Certainly not words meriting a champion side. Gavaskar finds Gambhir "frustrated and agitated" and feels the skipper's demeanor is pressuring the Indian players.

The odds seem to be stacked against the Knight Riders. Nothing short of a win can blow away the depression in the dressing room.