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Preview: Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) would look to get one foot into the play-offs when they host a struggling Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League (IPL) contest at the Eden Gardens. The Supergiants have had a horrible season so far with only three wins from 11 games and have no chance of making the last four, whereas KKR have won six out of their 10 outings and ideally need two more victories to make the cut. The Knights have had lot of ups and downs in their campaign. They started off brilliantly but then somehow lost their way in the middle. In their last league contest at the Eden, KKR lost by five wickets against Gujarat Lions. [caption id=“attachment_2781840” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Piyush Chawla of Kolkata Knight Riders celebrates the wicket of George Bailey. SportzPics[/caption] It was KKR’s batting which crumbled under some quality swing bowling. At one stage the home side were struggling at 24/4 and even though Yusuf Pathan and Shakib Al Hasan got them to 158, it just was not enough against the formidable Lions’ batting unit. Pune are also coming into this encounter at the back of a heart breaking defeat. On Tuesday they came out second best against Sunrisers Hyderabad by just four runs. Chasing a modest 138, the Pune innings never quite got going. They were pegged back by wickets at regular intervals and even for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s finishing skills the target was a bit too far. The only bright speck for Dhoni’s team in the game was Australian leg spinner Adam Zampa who picked up figures of 6-19 and ideally he would want to repeat such a performance on the Eden track known for assisting spinners. Even though the KKR top order failed in the last game, they have been a force to reckon with so far. Both openers-Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa– have been amongst runs and they have been ably supported by the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Yusuf Pathan in the middle order. Pathan has scored two fifties in his last three innings which includes an unbeaten 63 in the last contest against the Lions. It will be interesting to see if the Eden strip swings like it did in the previous encounter. If there is grass on the pitch, both sides would want to play an extra seamer. For the Knights, their strength has been spin and they would ideally want a rank-turner. Pacer Ashok Dinda will be back in his backyard but in different colours and Pune would want him to strike the early blows. Coming to their batting, the Australian duo of Usman Khawaja and George Bailey need to fire if the visitors have to put on or chase down a healthy total. All eyes will also be on Ajinkya Rahane who has taken up the role of playing the sheet-anchor. The bowling has been a worry for Dhoni and one would have to wait and see if his head ache continues. The squads: Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Suryakumar Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Brad Hogg, Shakib Al Hasan, Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel, Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Jason Holder, Manan Sharma, Colin Munro, Kuldeep Yadav, Sheldon Jackson, Ankit Rajpoot, Jaydev Unadkat, Rajagopal Sathish. Rising Pune Supergiants: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Jaskaran Singh, Usman Khawaja, M Ashwin, George Bailey, Peter Handscomb, Rajat Bhatia, RP Singh, Scott Boland, Adam Zampa, Thisara Perera, Ankit Sharma, Ankush Bains, Ashok Dinda, Baba Aparajith, Deepak Chahar.
IPL 9, KKR vs RPS, as it happened: Chawla, Yusuf Pathan help Kolkata thrash Pune by eight wickets
Live scores and updates of the IPL 9 match between KKR and RPS.
 "IPL 9, KKR vs RPS, as it happened: Chawla, Yusuf Pathan help Kolkata thrash Pune by eight wickets")
Kolkata Knight Riders win by 8 wickets by D/L method
The run-chase was a cakewalk for the home side. But they won the game while bowling. Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine completely stifled the Rising Pune Supergiants batsman who buckled under pressure. Easy win for the home side in the end
After 4 overs, KKR 57/2 (Y Pathan 36(14) M Pandey 13(7))
Yusuf Pathan has just killed this game as a contest. After a superb first over from Ashwin, Yusuf Pathan has taken the attack to the RPS bowlers. KKR need 9 runs from 5 overs
Sensational start to KKR innings, two wickets in first over. This could get tricky for the home team
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 14, 2016
5 wickets for Ashwin in team's first over in T20s in 2016 - joint-most by a bowler. Bhuvneshwar also has 5 wickets. #KKRvRPS
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) May 14, 2016
Gautam Gambhir won’t be happy with this
12 ducks for Gambhir in IPL. Joint-most by a player with Harbhajan Singh. #KKRvRPS
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) May 14, 2016
OUT! G Gambhir lbw b R Ashwin 0 (1b 0x4 0x6)
Ashwin strikes again, now sends Gambhir back to the hut. Rising Pune Supergiants not giving up on this. Gambhir not happy with the decision, but has to walk back to the dugout
OUT! RV Uthappa st †Dhoni b R Ashwin 4 (1b 1×4 0x6)
Ashwin sees Uthappa coming down the track and bowls it down the leg side. Dhoni has no problems in completing the stumping
PLAY TO START AT 11:45 IST
UPDATE: @KKRiders require 66 runs in 9 overs to win (D/L method). Match to start at 11:45 PM IST #KKRvRPS #VIVOIPL
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 14, 2016
GROUND INSPECTION POSTPONED TO 23:00 ist
The inspection that was supposed to happen at 22:45 IST has been postponed by another 15 minutes thanks to a fresh shower. The rain has stopped in Kolkata, but the covers are still on at the Eden Gardens
UPDATE FROM EDEN GARDENS!
The umpires will inspect the ground at 22:45 hrs IST. Lots of standing water on the ground #KKRvRPS
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 14, 2016
OUT! NLTC Perera c Pandey b Chawla 13 (11b 0x4 1×6)
Perera is caught in the deep after he tries to heave a delivery from outside the off-stump on the leg side. Piyush Chawla is spinning a web around the Pune Supergiants
After 15 overs,Rising Pune Supergiants 94/5 ( MS Dhoni (C) (W) 6 , Thisara Perera 6)
Spin from both ends has really but the breaks on Rising Pune Supergiants. The pressure has increased on Dhoni and co. who have lost wickets at regular intervals. Dhoni is struggling to get going on this pitch that is on the slower side
OUT! IK Pathan run out 7 (8b 0x4 0x6)
Big mix-up between Irfan Pathan and Dhoni. Pathan sacrifices his wicket for Dhoni.
Chawla is spinning it like a top!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 14, 2016
OUT! GJ Bailey st †Uthappa b Chawla 33 (27b 3×4 1×6)
Piyush Chawla beats Bailey in flight as Uthappa has an easy stumping to complete. Good bowling from the leg-spinner
After 10 overs,Rising Pune Supergiants 70/3 ( George Bailey 30 , Irfan Pathan 0)
George Bailey has looked in good touch and the responsibility of guiding Pune to a decent score rests on his shoulders.
After 6 overs,Rising Pune Supergiants 37/2 ( George Bailey 6 , Saurabh Tiwary 6)
Kolkata Knight Riders have done well to get both the openers back in the hut. With the spinners to come into action, the home side will be looking to put the breaks on the Pune scoring. Both captains said the wicket might get slower as the game progresses, so it is important that the Knight Riders restrict then below 150
OUT! UT Khawaja c Yadav b Shakib Al Hasan 21 (17b 3×4 0x6)
Khawaja is caught in the deep trying to clear the leg-side boundary. Big wicket for KKR
After 3 overs, Rising Pune Supergiants 19/1 (Usman Khawaja 15 , George Bailey 0)
Slow start from the Rising Pune Supergiants after electing to bat first. Khawaja has looked in good touch and has made his intent clear right from the word go. Kolkata Knight Riders must be looking to get rid off the Australian soon
OUT! AM Rahane b Russell 2 (6b 0x4 0x6)
Rahane departs trying to pull away a Andre Russell delivery. But only manages to drag it onto his own stumps. The crowd is on their feet as Pune lose their first wicket
They may be out, but Dhoni’s men seem in high spirits ahead of clash at Eden Gardens
.@RPSupergiants boys are warming-up ahead of their game against @KKRiders #KKRvRPS #VIVOIPLhttps://t.co/kHvGBuwIni
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 14, 2016
Rising Pune Supergians have won the toss and elected to bat first
Irfan Pathan and Murugan Ashwin are drafted into the Supergiants team in place of RP Singh and Rajat Bhatia
Sunil Narine comes back into the Kolkata Knight Riders in place of Brad Hogg, while Ankit Rajpoot replaces injured Umesh Yadav
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