IPL 2024: KKR eager to get back on winning ways vs LSG

Kolkata Knight Riders` cricketer Mitchell Starc bowls during a practice session ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 T20 cricket match between Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Garden, in Kolkata. Pic/PTI

For Kolkata Knight Riders, the triumphant homecoming didn't happen. Basking in their best beginning to an IPL season with three wins on the trot, they had a rude awakening in Chennai on Monday.

As the Knights brace for Sunday's showdown against the Lucknow Super Giants, the first of five consecutive home matches, they will want to quickly get back to winning ways and make the most of these battles in their backyard.

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It's just as well for Shreyas Iyer & Co that LSG too have been softened by defeat after three wins in a row, that too to bottom-placed Delhi Capitals.

KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock present a dangerous proposition in the Powerplay, and KKR's new-ball bowlers will have their task cut out for them. It doesn't help that big buy Mitchell Starc hasn't hit his straps yet. The likes of Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran follow to lend an ominous look to the line-up, but it's LSG's bowling unit, composed almost entirely of domestic talent, that has impressed more.

The Knights may well be spared the disconcerting pace of Mayank Yadav, who is nursing an injury. But, the LSG attack has to contend with some of the most destructive batsmen of the tournament. While Phil Salt and Sunil Narine have set a frenetic tone in the Powerplay, Andre Russell and Rinku Singh pose the biggest threat.