IPL 2022: Krunal Pandya, Badoni out for LSG vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Star all-rounder Krunal Pandya was benched by the Lucknow Super Giants for a key game against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai on Wedesday. 

LSG skipper KL Rahul won the toss and elected to bat first. 

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Announcing his decision, Rahul said that the team is looking to back its strength. Lucknow come to this game on the back of consecutive losses. They are placed on the third rung of the IPL 2022 points table with eight wins and five losses. 

Manan Vohra, Evin Lewis and K Gowtham come into the side. Pandya is out with a niggle. 

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We’ll bat first. The pitch looks a bit dry. Last few games, it’s been tough chasing. We have to be positive, we’ve done really well in the tournament. We need to start afresh, try to win this game and enjoy. We’ll focus all of our energy on this game. We do have quality in the middle-order, everyone’s experienced, you trust them to figure it out. We expect them to come back strong and deliver. We have three changes – Krunal has a niggle, so he sits out. Chameera and Badoni miss out. We’ve got in Vohra, Lewis and Gowtham in,” Rahul said at the toss.

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer said that the team will perform for the coaches, management and fans. Ajinkya Rahane is benched for the game. 

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“I would have batted as well. This is going to be our last opportunity for us to express ourselves. Let’s do it for the coaches, management and fans. Abhijeet Tomar comes in for Rahane,” Iyer said.

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Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Venkatesh Iyer, Abhijeet Tomar, Shreyas Iyer(c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings(w), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Varun Chakaravarthy

Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), KL Rahul(c), Evin Lewis, Deepak Hooda, Manan Vohra, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, Krishnappa Gowtham, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi