Kolkata, April 6 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the toss and chose to bat against Punjab Kings in the 12th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane said, "We will bat first. The pitch looks like it will be good for batting – a bit on the drier side. But it seems like a very good batting pitch. There is less grass on the surface, which is why we want to bat first. It's all about having that belief and having that confidence. It's about winning those small moments. You have to give your best, and if you find that right moment, give your best and have that belief. We will think about that. There were two forced changes – Varun Chakaravarthy got injured in the last game, and Sunil Narine is unwell. Navdeep Saini is replacing Chakaravarthy, and Rovman Powell is replacing Narine."
Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer said, "I was also supposed to bowl, so I'm happy with the decision he made. He has been performing well with Delhi Capitals, and he gives a lot of freedom and confidence to the young players in the team. He is an inspiration himself, having played outstanding cricket over the years, and we have always looked up to him as one of the best cricketers in the world. So, yes, playing alongside him is a phenomenal experience."
Playing XIs:
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact substitutes: Vishnu Vinod, Praveen Dubey, Priyansh Arya, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge
Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Navdeep Saini, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi
Impact substitutes: Manish Pandey, Tejasvi Dahiya, Rahul Tripathi, Saurabh Dubey, Blessing Muzarabani