IPL 2021: 3 Stars From Kolkata Knight Riders Who Will Be Game Changers Against Punjab Kings

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are not having the best of times in their last four games — and they will be up against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their next encounter in Ahmedabad. Kolkata Knight Riders have won only one game so far in their campaign and have lost the next four games on the trot. They are placed at the bottom of the table with just two points on board.

The top order failed again with Shubman Gill throwing his wicket with a run-out. The fast bowlers haven’t been very effective too and they must be on the mark to move forward in the tournament. The skipper Eoin Morgan has also been under scrutiny for a string of low scores and here are 3 stars from Kolkata Knight Riders who will be game-changers against Punjab Kings.

3 Stars From Kolkata Knight Riders Who Will Be Game Changers:

Nitish Rana:

Nitish Rana has been the top scorer for Kolkata Knight Riders in this season so far and he will be crucial to KKR’s plans moving forward. He has scored 186 runs in the five games he has played and apart from the two big scores in the first two games, he hasn’t got going in the following games.

Nitish Rana is an important player for the KKR at the top and a lot will be expected out of him at the start of the innings. He has shown that he has all the calibre and needs to work on being more consistent. He scored 22 off 25 balls in the previous game which is way below his standards and KKR’s success will depend on his form against the Punjab Kings in their next encounter.

Dinesh Karthik:

Dinesh Karthik has started to show some promising signs for the Kolkata Knight Riders in their recent games and he has played some extravagant shots so far. He scored 25 off 24 in the previous game and looked to have got back his touch. He is an important asset to the KKR’s destructive middle order.

With Eoin Morgan not firing, the onus will be on the former captain Dinesh Karthik to step up and take his team home from crunch situations. He played very well against the Chennai Super Kings in the partnership with Andre Russell and almost pulled off the win for the side. If KKR manages to get good starts, then Dinesh Karthik will be a dangerous batsman at the back end of the innings.

Andre Russell:

Andre Russell started the season with a five-wicket haul but hasn’t shown progress after that in the bowling department, but KKR will be happy with the way he played against the Chennai Super Kings. He was dismissed on a poor judgment of where the ball was heading into and it crashed into the stumps after superlative innings.

Russell has some brutal power which could be useful in the back end of the innings, but he has been running out of partners and KKR needs to play around Russell. He needs to make sure that he bowls a lot more and becomes a useful death bowler apart from the hitting prowess in the batting department. He can change a match in a quick time and he will be the game changer for Kolkata Knight Riders against the Punjab Kings.