Kings XI Punjab are all set to take on Kolkata Knight Riders in their second home-game of the sixth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). With Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla in great form with the ball they would be looking to dismantle the batting trio of Gautam Gambhir, Jacques Kallis and Eoin Morgan. On the other hand, to stop David Hussey and Azhar Mahmood from scoring those big runs KKR would be relying on Sunil Narine and Rajat Bhatia.

Here we bring to you the players to watch out for in the match between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR):

Kings XI Punjab (KXI-P)

Praveen Kumar: Praveen was at his very best as he delivered with the bat as well as with the ball. He gave away just 10 runs and took couple of wickets in four overs. He scored those brisk 15 runs which extended the total to be more competitive against Rajasthan Royals.

David Hussey: Hussey has been the highest run-getter for Punjab till now and his team would love to see him continue that when they will face KKR. He scored 41 off 31 balls in the last match against Rajasthan Royals.

Azhar Mahmood: Mahmood was stupendous in the last match against RR as he scored much needed 23 off 20 balls in the death overs. He also contributed with the ball but didn’t pick any wickets in his four overs. He needs to bat up the order so that he can play more balls to score more runs for his team.

Gurkeerat Singh: Gurkeerat has the potential to play crucial knocks in the middle order but he needs to be careful with his shot selection which was not quite good in the last match and he got out after scoring 10 runs.

Piyush Chawla: Chawla has to deliver with the ball otherwise it is a tough task to beat KKR. They have some good batsmen who can play the spin very well and it’s going to be the biggest challenge for him to stop the flow of runs while bowling to them.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Gautam Gambhir: Gambhir is in a splendid form this season and would be looking for extending his run with another half-century against Kings XI Punjab. He scored a brisk 53 off 45 balls in the last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Eoin Morgan: Morgan played a swashbuckling knock of 47 off just 21 balls to give that much needed acceleration at the end of the innings. His presence in the middle-order gives a lot of stability to his team and gives a chance to send hitters like Yusuf Pathan or Manoj Tiwary up the order when needed.

Jacques Kallis: Kallis has been in brilliant form and he displayed his class with his 41 runs contribution. He also rolled over his arm quite beautifully to pick up three wickets for just 13 runs in his quota of four overs.

Sunil Narine: Narine can be dangerous on the track of Mohali as it can offer some awkward bounce which can trouble the fragile batting line-up of Kings XI Punjab. He was expensive in the last match and gave away 31 runs for one wicket but things could be different for him at Mohali.

Rajat Bhatia: Bhatia is looking in good form with the ball and his subtle variations are getting him some rich dividends. His ability to execute slow Yorkers in the mid-overs creates a lot of trouble for the batsmen and against Punjab he would be looking to do a much better performance.

By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network