IPL 2024: Chennai Halts Kolkata's Winning Streak, Now Face Gambhir's Former Team; Kolkata to Play First Home Match

In the 28th match of the Indian Premier League 2024, the two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders will take the field at their home ground Eden Gardens on Sunday. Playing without Mayank Yadav, they will face the Lucknow Super Giants, aiming to return to the winning path. This is KKR's first match at Eden Gardens this season. Mentor Gautam Gambhir knows well that the five matches here could prove crucial for securing a playoffs berth for the first time since 2021.

KKR has been overly reliant on the West Indies duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, which cost them against Chennai Super Kings in their previous match where they lost by seven wickets. Narine (27) and Russell (10) failed with the bat. Due to their explosive form, KKR had scored over 200 in three matches, but against Chennai, they could only manage 137/9. IPL 2024: Yuzvendra Chahal Could Achieve Milestone, Could Become First Bowler to Do This

Nitish Rana will also miss this match due to a finger injury. KKR captain Shreyas Iyer has been unimpressive, scoring 0, 39*, 18, and 34 in four matches. Venkatesh Iyer has failed to reach double digits in three matches and scored his only half-century against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He batted at No. 3 in the first match against Sunrisers Hyderabad but came in at No. 7 and No. 5 in the last two matches. Umesh Yadav has also been ineffective.

On the other hand, Lucknow will miss the services of fast bowler Mayank Yadav, who is out due to a muscle strain in his arm. Arshdeep Khan, who replaced him, was unsuccessful against Delhi. Mohsin Khan is also not fully fit yet. Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul will need to play big innings, while good performances are expected from Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran as well. They also have quality spinners like Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya.