IPL 2017, Preview, KXIP Vs KKR: Kolkata Aim To Clamber Over Cornered Punjab, Seal Knockout Spot

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) would be looking to seal off their position among the top two teams in the Play-offs when they take on Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in an away match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Season 10 on Tuesday. With 16 points from 12 matches, KKR are as good as in the knockout stage, but their ambition to be among the top two still needs work. KXIP, on the other hand, would be devastated after losing to Gujarat Lions and now need something akin to a miracle to make it through.

KXIP have 10 points from 11 games and find themselves at the crossroads of an escape or disaster, which would be further cemented by the way they end up in the match with Kolkata.

If they were to win, there would be a little more breathing space but a loss would virtually seal all doors to escape.

They would be especially worried about their inability to defend pretty big scores, as was seen against GL. This is something that KKR would be banking on too.

Squads:

Kings XI Punjab: Glenn Maxwell (capt), David Miller, Manan Vohra, Hashim Amla, Shaun Marsh, Darren Sammy, Wriddhiman Saha, Nikhil Naik, Ishant Sharma, Armaan Jaffer, Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Anureet Singh, Mohit Sharma, KC Cariappa, Pradeep Sahu, Swapnil Singh, T Natrajan, Matt Henry, Varun Aaron, Axar Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Gurkeerat Mann, Rahul Tewatia.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (capt), Darren Bravo, Yusuf Pathan, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot, Trent Boult, Piyush Chawla, Nathan Coulter Nile, Colin de Grandhomme, Rishi Dhawan, Sayan Ghosh, Shakib Al-Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Ishank Jaggi, Kuldeep Yadav, Chris Woakes, Chris Lynn, Manish Pandey.

(With inputs from PTI)