Smith top-scored with 73 not out for Rajasthan Royals in their relatively meagre total of 139 for three in Jaipur.
KKR will head to the game with the belief that the side can win from any situation, which they have demonstrated time and again.
While Trinbago Knight Riders ended Guyana Amazon Warriors' 11-match winning streak beating them by four wickets in a match reduced to 17 overs, Barbados Tridents edged out St. Kitts & Nevis Patriot by six runs at the Brian Lara Academy here on Tuesday.
Off-spinner Sunil Narine was already indicating he would be a factor later in the game as he put New Zealand's batsmen under immense pressure on the second day of the third Test on Friday before the hosts finished on 156 for three at the close of play.
Veteran Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has declined Pakistan Cricket Board's offer of a 'fitting send-off', saying he still has a lot to contribute to the game and his country. A tweet from PCB executive committee chairman Najam Sethi over the weekend raised speculation that Ajmal and fellow veteran Shahid Afridi were set to announce their retirement from the international game.
Knuckle ball a powerful weapon for bowlers, says Aaron Finch.
Robin Uthappa, on Saturday, said he's relishing his new-found role at number three as he guided Kolkata Knight Riders to a 17-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League match in Kolkata.
Images from Monday's IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, in Sharjah.
'We have a number of match-winners, so it's very difficult to go up the order'
Here are some Images from match 27 of the Indian Premier League...
India concluded the two-match US leg of the series by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead after notching up a 22-run win in the second game on Sunday.
Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan hit half-centuries as Kolkata Knight Riders edged past Delhi Daredevils by four wickets, in the Indian Premier League, in Delhi, on Monday.
Buoyant Kolkata Knight Riders will look to continue their winning momentum when they face defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Mumbai Indians have an eight-match winning streak against Kolkata Knight Riders with an overall 18-5 head-to-head record.
Mumbai get the money-spinning tournament rolling in Chennai on Friday, just four months after claiming their second successive title, with a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, led by India captain Virat Kohli.
Chahar started the rot for KKR early in their innings when he trapped opener Chris Lynn in front of the wickets as the Aussie missed a pull off a delivery that kept low. Lynn was sent back inside the first over for a duck. He came into the equation in the next over when he took a brilliant catch, running backwards, to dismiss Sunil Narine for just 6 off the bowling of Harbhajan Singh.
Suresh Raina's return could not have been better-timed as Gujarat Lions, jolted by the tournament's biggest ever defeat, seek to revive their campaign when they face off with Kolkata Knight Riders.
ujarat Lions face the challenging task of gathering themselves and bounce back when they square off against the consistent Kolkata Knight Riders.
'Narine's absence is a big loss for us'
Kolkata Knight Riders may have the home advantage going into the openng game against Mumbai Indians, but it's the rival skipper Rohit Sharma, who oozed confidence, terming that his team feels equally at home, having won their maiden Indian Premier League title at this venue two years ago.
The art of Chinaman bowling is becoming a rarity in the world of cricket, but ask Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Kuldeep Yadav and he would tell you that after seeing him perform, many would take u to this extremely tough art of bowling.
Images from Monday's Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah.
Images from Wednesday's IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Abu Dhabi.
'The main motivation when I get a game is to perform for the team and help the team win'
Kolkata Knight Riders will have to break the agonising sequence of debacles when they clash with defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL eliminator, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
India retained the No 1 spot in the latest Reliance ODI team rankings while Virat Kohli maintained the number two position with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni static at the seventh place in the batting chart released in Dubai.
Bollywood superstar and principal owner Shah Rukh Khan on Sunday cheered for Kolkata Knight Riders from the stands even as his new-look team, under new skipper Dinesh Karthik, looked to regain some lost ground in the post-Gautam Gambhir era at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Two Indian batsmen are now in the top five of the ICC ODI rankings, with Virat Kohli remaining at number three and opener Shikhar Dhawan climbing up the ladder to fifth after earning four places in the latest list issued on Wednesday.
While KKR suffered their heaviest defeat of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game, Pune looked to have found their mojo in the business end of the tournament having registered consecutive wins in their last two matches.
Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs in their Indian Premier League match, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir has attributed his side's splendid run in the Champions League Twenty20 to collective effort, saying that his team has done well in all departments of the game en route to the final.
India remained third, while star batsman Virat Kohli maintained his second spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings released on Sunday.
India have managed to retain their third spot among T20 teams while Virat Kohli has held on to his sixth spot in the ICC rankings for Twenty20 batsmen issued in Dubai on Sunday.
Kolkata Knights Riders captain Gautam Gambhir expressed confidence that his side can put up an impressive performance in their IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, notwithstanding their loss to Mumbai Indians earlier.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look to assert their supremacy, while Sunrisers Hyderabad will have revenge on mind when the two teams clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Eliminator in New Delhi on Wednesday. Both Sunrisers and KKR finished their league engagements on 16 points each but the Gautam Gambhir-led side ended fourth behind Sunrisers due to inferior net run rate. But going into the do-or-die game, KKR have psychological advantage over the Sunrisers having beaten them on both the occasions during the league stage. KKR thrashed Sunrisres by eight wickets in their first meeting this season and came out victorious by 22 runs in a must-win match last Sunday to qualify for the play-offs.
His two half-centuries this IPL season may have come in his favoured opening slot but Shubman Gill has defended Kolkata Knight Riders' debatable decision to use him as a floater.
India's Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina were involved in a heated on-field argument over a dropped catch during India's tri-series match against the West Indies on Saturday.
Senior batsman Ramnarseh Sarwan has been dropped from the 13-member West Indies cricket squad for the first three matches of their ODI tri-series against India and Sri Lanka starting June 28.
Kolkata Knight Riders, who have lost their last four games, need to get back to winning ways and keep their hopes alive of making it to the play-offs.
Uncapped Evin Lewis has been named to replace the injured Lendl Simmons in the West Indies squad for the World Twenty20 in India. The experienced Simmons was ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury. "The 24-year-old left-handed batsman will join the team ahead of the start of the global event," the West Indies Cricket Board said in a statement. Lewis has represented Trinidad & Tobago in the Caribbean T20 and the Champions League and impressed chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd, who led West Indies to two 50-over World Cup triumphs. "Evin Lewis a young and exciting batsman who we believe he will fit into the team set-up very well. He has the ability to perform at this level of the game," Lloyd said. "His selection is in keeping with our policy to give exposure to young, talented players we believe will help to carry West Indies cricket forward," he added. All-rounder Kieron Pollard was ruled out of the World Twenty20 due to a knee injury, spinner Sunil Narine is still working to fix his illegal bowling and all-rounder Darren Bravo has opted to focus on the longer formats of the game.
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