'We have almost got too many batting options at the moment, so that's why I say we were a little bit muddled with what we're sending out.'
Kolkata Knight Riders delivered a professional performance to beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in Jaipur on Wednesday, putting their Indian Premier League campaign back on track with back to back victories.
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings head into the match after identical seven-wicket wins over Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.
MI are coming into the match after suffering back-to-back losses
KKR with 12 points from 12 games would like to win the next two encounters to ensure a smooth passage while CSK, currently at the bottom of the eight-team table, are only playing for pride.
After eight defeats in 11 outings, Chennai Super Kings will look to give their forgettable campaign a semblance of respectability when they take on in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League in Dubai on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians have been in ominous form and the varied bowling attack could prove a challenge for the CSK batters, who are low on confidence.
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals have failed to live up to expectations in the IPL so far and are placed sixth and seventh respectively on the points table in the eight-team competition.
Fresh from their clinical display against Sunrisers Hyderabad, two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to set the record straight against nemesis Mumbai Indians in their second IPL match in Chennai on Tuesday.
CSK have better resources but they must utilise them to the hilt. Teams:
Following their 11-match winning streak, Kolkata Knight Riders will be aiming to keep their juggernaut rolling as they meet Perth Scorchers in their third Group A league match of the Champions League T20 in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Harbhajan Singh has already the CSK management about his decision of opting out of the T20 league, starting on September 19.
An unstoppable Kolkata Knight Riders stretched their winning streak to a record 12 after the reigning IPL champions edged past Perth Scorchers by 3 wickets to all but confirm their semi-final spot in the Champions League Twenty20 in Hyderabad.
"No ground is big enough for me," declared Andre Russell after yet another unbelievable display of power hitting in the Indian Premier League. The Jamaican smashed an unbeaten 48 off 13 balls as Kolkata Knight Riders plundered 66 runs in four overs to script a memorable victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Bengaluru, on Friday night.
Andre Russell smashed a breathtaking half-century while Ryan ten Doeschate struck a fine unbeaten 51 to guide Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders to a stunning seven-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings.
Delhi Daredevils are expected to get a boost ahead of their IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday with pacer Zaheer Khan.
A battle royale is in the offing as heavyweights Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals clash in a high-profile IPL encounter, in Chennai, on Tuesday.
Getting the combination right would be topmost on Sunrisers Hyderabad's to-do list when they take on a qualitatively superior Mumbai Indians in an IPL encounter in Chennai on Saturday, trying to arrest an early slide after back-to-back defeats.
There are not many role models in the current Indian cricket set up other than Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and the seniors do not command much respect from the youngsters, believes former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.
Kolkata Knight Riders' left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan rued that their attack, heavily dependent on slow bowlers, is not getting enough assistance from Eden Gardens pitch. KKR's fate hangs in balance after a demoralizing nine-wicket defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday. Admitting that their loss was a setback, the left-arm spinner said: "I can talk of myself and I would say yes, we are not getting that advantage (from the pitch). We are a spin dependent team, so we always expect some assistance at home. We have not been getting that till now. It's a bit disappointing for the players." The two-time former champions face a 2015-like situation as they are left to win their remaining two matches to assure themselves a play-off berth, something they failed to achieve in their title defence last year to be eliminated at group stage.
Central Zone's Madhya Pradesh duo of Jalaj Saxena and wicketkeeper batsman Naman Ojha took full advantage of dropped catches and took an inexperienced North Zone attack to the cleaners as they posted 344 for three at stumps, on the first day of their Duleep Trophy semi-final, at Mohali, on Wednesday.
Gujarat Lions captain Suresh Raina said they missed the services of experienced Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo and the display against Kolkata Knight Riders should be a 'learning curve' for the young bowlers of his side.
On paper, Kolkata Knight Riders are overwhelming favourites against King's XI Punjab.
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.
While Kings XI's biggest star Chris Gayle scored a 47-ball 79 in the Jaipur match, his Jamaican compatriot Andre Russell also looked in blistering touch for KKR in the match against Sunriserrs Hyderabad. Their rivalry will be one of the sub plots of Wednesday's clash in Kolkata.
With a debate raging over the run out, it remains to be seen how Ashwin and Co. start afresh in what will be their first away match of the season.
Andre Russell played a whirlwind unbeaten knock of 49-runs to script his side's dramatic win after Nitish Rana scored 68 at top of the batting order.
Comeback man David Warner will be the cynosure of all eyes when last year's finalist Sunrisers Hyderabad open their campaign against two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the 12th Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, o
Kolkata Knight Riders stormed into the final of the Indian Premier League on the back of a convincing 28-run win over Kings XI Punjab, with pacer Umesh Patel hogging the limelight with a fine display of fast bowling.
Robin Uthappa roared back into form with a century, while Karun Nair also cracked a brilliant hundred as the two overcame early jitters to help Karnataka reach 297 for five against Uttar Pradesh on the opening day of their quarter-final Ranji Trophy match.
Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell launched an incredible counter-attack after the fall of quick wickets in the start to guide Kolkata Knight Riders to an entertaining five-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday. Chasing a challenging 186-run target set by RCB, Yusuf smashed an unbeaten 60 off only 29 balls to guide KKR home with five balls remaining.
The ever-reliable Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored an unbeaten 91 and shared an unbroken 170-run partnership with Narsing Deonarine (83) as the West Indies posted a solid 333 for 4 against Uttar Pradesh on the opening day of their practice match, in Kolkata, on Thursday.
An incisive spell of seam bowling by Karnataka's Abhimanyu Mithun helped South Zone reduce Central Zone to 123 for five on a rain curtailed first day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Chennai.
Chennai Super Kings pacer Deepak Chahar has agreed with his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni that the team needs a better pitch at home despite winning all their games, in Chennai, so far.
Watching a domestic game at a nondescript centre in energy sapping conditions can be an ordeal but a small group of teenage girls were not going to be bogged down by weather or any other conditions.
Sloppy fielding and lacklustre bowling let Chennai Super Kings down against Kolkata Knight Riders
Coach Stephen Fleming said nothing was wrong with the captain.
Mumbai Indians have a 10-5 record against KKR. Can they maintain the advantage?
Sandeep Sharma scalped three crucial wickets as Kings XI Punjab produced a disciplined bowling display to compensate for their batting failure and notch up a comfortable 23-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match in Abu Dhabi.
Chahal is currently the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing ODI series against South Africa with 11 scalps in three games.
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