Once KKR’s own, Iyer returns to Eden as Punjab’s main man
kolkata: The man who last season led Kolkata Knight Riders to IPL glory returns to Eden Gardens not just with memories, but a motive.
Shreyas Iyer, now donning Punjab Kings’ colours, has already dealt a telling blow to his former side earlier this season — and come Saturday evening, he’ll be hungry to deliver the knockout punch as PBKS and KKR square off once more with stakes even higher.
On paper and in mood, Punjab appears the more balanced and upbeat outfit. They’ve won three of their last five games and come into this clash with a settled line-up and a captain who has grown visibly into the role.
KKR, in contrast, looks like a team fraying at the edges, having lost four of their last five matches and making murmurs about pitch conditions at Eden Gardens, which has surprisingly offered little assistance to the bowlers here.
The strip here for Saturday promises to be another hard, true surface with good bounce and some spin if bowled intelligently, conditions that have paradoxically worked against KKR’s famed spin pair of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy. Neither has made a telling impact at home, and that will worry the think-tank.
The toss will be crucial on a classic Kolkata summer — humid, slightly overcast, sans rain threat — but with some dew to affect the second innings.
KKR’s brittle middle-order has come under severe scrutiny. Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and Ramandeep Singh have all faltered in clutch moments, forcing management to contemplate bold changes. Rovman Powell and veteran Manish Pandey could be given starts in the hope of some stability and finishing firepower. Anrich Nortje may return to inject pace in place of Moeen Ali, who looked listless in his last outing.
Young Angkrish Raghuvanshi continues to be a rare bright spark for the Kolkata franchise, and he could come in as an impact sub again. But the pressure will remain firmly on Iyer’s opposite number, Ajinkya Rahane, who must rally his side against a PBKS unit that’s growing in confidence and also improve his performance.
