Rishabh Pant won the toss at a still-damp Eden Gardens and, without much fuss, asked Kolkata Knight Riders to bat first. The Lucknow Super Giants captain kept the same XI that beat Sunrisers Hyderabad, gambling that the tacky surface and lingering cloud would aid his seamers later on.
Rain has hovered over Kolkata all week. The previous match here lasted only 22 balls before the covers came on, and it drizzled again on Thursday afternoon. By 7 pm, though, the umpires were satisfied the ground was playable, even if – as Faf du Plessis quietly pointed out while doing television duties – “the outfield was a bit wet”.
The headline change belonged to KKR. Sunil Narine, over his illness, slotted straight back in for Blessing Muzarabani. “Varun is still recovering from his hand injury,” Ajinkya Rahane confirmed, so the other mystery spinner remains sidelined. Rahane then watched Cameron Green mark out a run-up and added, “When he is allowed to bowl, the combination becomes better”. Green, Powell and Allen complete an overseas trio that gives KKR power with the bat and, if Green’s elbow holds up, another pace option once the lights take hold.
Conditions first, numbers later
• Cloud cover usually slows the surface here, so Pant’s decision to chase was hardly radical.
• LSG’s attack is seam-heavy: Mohammed Shami partners Avesh Khan with the new ball, while Prince Yadav’s heavy-length cutters have impressed analysts such as Dale Steyn and Aaron Finch this season.
• KKR may need Narine’s overs early if the ball grips, because Vaibhav Arora – most likely Impact substitute – is their main swing bowler.
Possible Impact moves
LSG have Ayush Badoni ready should the chase require a finishing touch, and they can still sneak in Matthew Breetzke to lengthen the batting without upsetting the overseas balance. KKR, meanwhile, are expected to swap a batter for Arora once they defend, giving Rahane a fifth frontline bowler.
The elevens in full
LSG (field first): Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, M Siddharth, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav.
Impact bench: Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke, Shahbaz Ahmad, Mayank Yadav, Himmat Singh.
KKR (bat first): Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi.
Bench: Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Tejasvi Singh Dahiya, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert.
A straightforward toss call, a welcome return for Narine, and just enough moisture in the surface to keep both dressing rooms guessing.
