Yuzvendra Chahal will pose a big threat to KKR.
Yuzvendra Chahal will pose a massive threat to KKR at Eden Gardens. He has 13 wickets at an average of 34 and an economy rate of 8.84 in 13 innings, including a four-wicket haul, at this venue. He looked good in the previous game, showing tremendous bowling smarts across three overs against CSK.
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Chahal has dismissed Ajinkya Rahane four times in 45 balls, and the batter had struck at just 102.22 with only three boundaries. Finn Allen has also lost his wicket once without scoring any runs in three balls. Even in general, both batters have had issues against spin, especially Rahane, and they will be vulnerable.
Meanwhile, Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been dismissed twice in 19 balls, with a strike rate of 136.84. Additionally, Yuzvendra Chahal has also removed Rinku Singh, while Ramandeep Singh lost his wicket on the only delivery he faced against the spinner. Both are, anyway, not too great against spin and have got stuck at times.
The onus will be massive on Cameron Green, who not only has a fine record against Chahal but also remains one of the better spin players in the team. He has scored at 218.18 with three boundaries in 11 balls without any dismissals. Additionally, he has done reasonably well against spin, especially right-arm spinners.
Overall, he has a strike rate of 135.33 and a balls-per-boundary ratio of 6.65 against spin since last year. So, Green will hold the key for KKR. He will need to bat deep and shield pace-hitters around him.
KKR also have an RHB-heavy batting unit, with no LHBs in the top four and five right-hand batters overall. Chahal has not been at his best since the last IPL season; still, he has done reasonably well against RHBs. The leg-spinner has 16 wickets at 17.37 and an economy rate of 8.06 against RHBs since IPL 2025.
So, Sunil Narine can also be promoted somewhere in the middle order for this game. He has struck at a whopping 245 and hit a boundary every 2.85 against Yuzvendra Chahal. Moreover, he’s an LHB and will have an edge over the bowler.
Even in general, Narine specialises in whacking spin, and if not opening, should be tried against wrist spinners as a floater. His value in the lower order will anyway be low, since he can’t clear ropes consistently against pace with a spread field. KKR don’t have many spin-hitters in the lineup, and if Narine comes in the middle overs, the likes of Rinku and Ramandeep will get to face more pace in the back end of the innings.
Anukul Roy can also be promoted should the Narine move not work. Like the West Indies all-rounder, Anukul is an LHB and will at least make Chahal think a bit about his lines, which have been erratic at times. He can look to use his long levers and put the spinner under pressure from the outset; if it comes off, great, if not, KKR aren’t losing much given his limited batting returns anyway.
Fortunately for KKR, Punjab Kings have Chahal as the only spin-bowling option, with all others being pace bowlers. Cooper Connolly is not bowling fit yet, while Harpreet Brar and other spinners haven’t been tried just yet this season. Hence, the Knight Riders can afford to shuffle a few orders to protect pace-hitters and give them the best possible chance to face more pace balls.
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