IPL 2023: Inconsent KKR hope for Eden miracle against LSG

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) host Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in what will be their final game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. KKR are currently in seventh place in the points table with six wins and seven losses, while LSG is third with seven wins and five losses.
So, merely a win will not suffice for the Knights. They will have to beat Lucknow a significant margin and also hope that other results go in their favour, needing Punjab Kings (vs Rajasthan Royals), Gujarat Titans (vs Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (Mumbai Indians) to win their respective matches. A win, however, would be enough for their opponents, LSG, to seal their playoff berth.
KKR only have themselves to blame for their position, failing to find consency with the bat, ball, or in the field, ultimately following up some impressive wins with disappointing losses.

We are LIVE from Eden Gardens! 🏟️ Catch our latest #KnightLive episode 🎥
Click to join 👉 https://t.co/aEhq8Y2sJX#AmiKKR | #TATAIPL
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 19, 2023
KKR have also been unable to take advantage of the home conditions with an apparent lack of communication between the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and the franchise. Their captain Nitish Rana has rued the lack of home advantage, but the Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee has made it clear that he is not obligated to provide pitches that the home team wants.
KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit, speaking on the eve of the match, shed some light on the matter and said, “Home advantage is a bit of a misunderstood concept. In my experience, I have seen teams failing to win games despite having favourable conditions. It is all about how to win games. Yes, we are playing at home, but despite having this home advantage, we could not win enough games, which was unfortunate.”
“But in the IPL, many other teams have also failed to take the home advantage. However, we should have taken the advantage of playing at home,” he explained. “As far as pitches are concerned, they have changed over time. Nobody can give a guarantee on it, and it happens sometimes,”
Where KKR have also faltered is not being able to crack the code of a winning combination, there suffering seven defeats. Out of those seven, four losses were at the Eden Gardens.
The only shining lights in this season have been the performances of Rinku Singh and Varun Chakravarthy. It is probably due to the duo that KKR have kept their campaign alive, albeit mathematically.
Pandit believes their team is focused on winning the game rather than looking at the table. “We won our last game, and momentum is with us, and we want to finish on a good note and make it to the playoffs winning the game,” he said.
Reflecting on the season, Pandit said, “The tournament was very tough, and despite whatever our team has done, we could have done much better. (We) still want to do much better.”
Jersey Talk
LSG’s decision to wear a special jersey with Mohun Bagan colours on it (with both the teams having the same owner) has led to much chatter on social media. While some fans are divided over whom to support, others have called for mature behaviour and take it as a mark of respect being shown to the 100-year-old football club of the city and not make too much about it.

Green and Maroon is a 💚♥ pic.twitter.com/ucBcNTblt1
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) May 19, 2023
Another interesting factor will be the presence of LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir, who led KKR to their two triumphs in 2012 and 2014, and he will probably add all his valuable input. But according to KKR coach Pandit, he won’t impact the Knights.
One eye on the weather
Players of both teams will have one eye on the weather amidst predictions of a storm. Over the last couple of days, the city of joy has been witnessing thunderstorms and rains in the evening, and as per Accuweather, there is a chance of a similar event on Saturday as well.

Ki hocche, Kolkata? 👀 pic.twitter.com/KQGZ123KGJ
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) May 19, 2023
Key Matchups
Varun Chakravarthy has been KKR’s go-to guy in high-pressure situations, be it in the powerplay or at the death. So it will be an exciting matchup if he comes up against the likes of Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis and Kyle Mayers.
Another interesting duel that could play out would be the battle between LSG’s pacers – Avesh Khan and Mohsin Khan against Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.