IPL 2016, KKR vs KXIP Playing 11: Probable XI for Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab (Confirmed Playing 11)

#Update

CONFIRMED KINGS XI PUNJAB XI: Murali Vijay (C), Manan Vohra, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Wriddhiman Saha(WK), Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Swapnil Singh.

CONFIRMED KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS XI; Gautam Gambhir (C), Robin Uthappa (WK), Manish Pandey, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Brad Hogg, Piyush Chawla, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav.

The 32nd match of the VIVO IPL 2016 will see the action shift to the Eden Gardens in Kolkata for an encounter between home side Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab. Both teams have different tales to tell as far as their IPL campaigns are concerned. While KKR has stayed in the top half of the table for the most part of the season so far, KXIP have remained stuck at the 8th position for quite some time now. The Kolkata team has been in rampaging form so far with 5 victories in 8 matches. On the other hand, the Punjab side has continued its poor run from last year's IPL with 5 losses in 7 games. Although the Kings managed to register an impressive win against table-toppers Gujarat Lions in their previous match, they will be up against it when they take on the Knight Riders in their own backyard.

Here's a look at the likely side which will represent the Kolkata Knight Riders in the match:

Batting

Skipper Gautam Gambhir has been in incredible form for KKR this season with 339 runs at an average of just over 56 and 3 fifties against his name. His opening partner, Robin Uthappa, has provided him very good support by scoring 243 runs in 8 innings and stitching together some valuable partnerships at the top of the order.

Among other batsmen who have done a decent job for the Knight Riders are Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav and Andre Russell. Pathan has been particularly impressive, scoring 146 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of close to 172. Some problem areas in terms of the Kolkata batting are the form of Shakib Al Hasan and the struggles of BBL superstar Chris Lynn.

The two-time IPL champions will need to fix some of the gaps in their batting before the business end of the tournament gets underway.

All-rounders

The performance of the KKR all-rounders has been quite a mixed bag in this edition of the IPL. The best of the lot till now has been Russell, who has scored 133 runs in 6 innings and also picked up 9 wickets. Shakib has not done justice to his all-rounder tag in this year's IPL as he has failed with the bat despite being pretty good with the ball. The Knight Riders will require a stronger performance from their all-rounders in order to maintain their impressive run this year.

Bowling

The bowling department has not given the Kolkata Knight Riders too many problems in the 9th season of the IPL. Almost all their bowlers have been among the wickets and pacer Umesh Yadav leads the way with 10 wickets in 8 matches. Andre Russell is their 2nd most successful bowler with 9 wickets, followed by Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Morne Morkel who have claimed 6 wickets each.

Although the Kolkata bowling attack has done quite well in terms of taking wickets, they have been guilty of giving away too many runs in the final overs in the past few games. KKR should ensure that they address the few problem areas in their bowling as the race for the playoffs intensifies.

Probable Playing XI

Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav.

KXIP have been struggling to win matches in the 2016 IPL

Let's take a look at the predicted Kings XI Punjab side which may play against KKR:

Batting

The Kings XI Punjab batting line-up has been struggling for form this season with new skipper Murali Vijay being the only consistent performer. Vijay has scored 198 runs in 7 innings with two half-centuries and tasted success in his very first match as skipper too. Manan Vohra has provided some amount of support to their captain by scoring 159 and 161 runs respectively. Shaun Marsh and has been ruled for the tournament and replaced by Hashim Amla in the squad. But, for this match, I back Farhaan Behardien to get the nod for the final foreigner spot.

The biggest problem for KXIP has been the form of former skipper David Miller and top player Glenn Maxwell. While Miller has only contributed 107 runs in 7 innings so far, Maxwell has scored 95 runs at a poor average of just under 16. Wriddhiman Saha has also not looked the part whereas Axar Patel has struggled to score runs down the order.

Punjab will need to improve drastically on the batting front if they want to get their 2016 IPL campaign back on track.

All-rounders

Another issue for the Kings in the 9th edition of the IPL has been the lacklustre performance of their all-rounders. Patel has done well with the ball but has not contributed enough with the bat. Marcus Stoinis has batted quite decently in his 2 matches but has not impressed much with the ball. Maxwell has not been performing with either bat or ball, adding further to Punjab's woes. The all-rounders will have to step up to pull their team out of a hole in the ongoing IPL season.

Bowling

Medium pacer Mohit Sharma has been the most successful bowler for KXIP this season. The former CSK bowler has claimed 10 wickets already and has conceded his runs at an economy of under 8. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel has also bowled well for his 8 wickets, which include a hat-trick against league leaders Gujarat Lions.

Opening bowler Sandeep Sharma has been a standout performer for Kings XI Punjab with 7 wickets at a brilliant economy rate of 6.60. None of the other bowlers have made much of an impression and this has been one of the primary reasons for the team's struggles in this year's IPL. The bowlers need to do even better to help the Kings stage a recovery.

Probable Playing XI

M Vijay, Manan Vohra, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Farhaan Behardien, Axar Patel, KC Cariappa, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma.

*Updated