Sharjah: Kolkata Knight Riders will have a lot on their plate when they take on a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPL match here on Monday with their lethal weapon Sunil Narine blunted by a chucking complaint and fitness clouds hovering over enforcer Andre Russell. Narine, who have had multiple complaints of suspect action against him, is again in trouble after on-field umpires’ report post KKR’s thrilling two-run win against Kings XI Punjab in which the spinner played a massive role. Not only KXIP, the match against CSK also witnessed Narine’s entry after 10 overs, stifling Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men. It seemed that the spinner was getting his mojo back and could have been a handful for Virat Kohli’s in-form men. However, the first warning (a second one would bar him from bowling) from the IPL authorities is certain to ring alarm bells in the KKR camp as he was supposed to be Dinesh Karthik’s ‘go-to’ man in pressure situations. It has been learnt that Narine has a problem with a few deliveries, especially the one that breaks back into a right-hander where there is believed to be an elbow flex beyond permissible limit. With his batting also not exactly clicking, how KKR fits him in the playing XI will be interesting, knowing that another offence could end his tournament as a bowler.
The two sides have won four of their six games with KKR ahead of RCB on net run rate but inconsistency in batting has been an issue for both the teams.
KKR are placed third in the standings and the two-time champions will be going all out for a victory at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium after registering two back-to-back wins against Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. Andre Russell, who hurt his knee when he accidentally dived into the advertisement boards after missing a catch on Saturday, could also be a doubtful starter. (PTI)
