Kolkata Knight Riders is yet to put a foot wrong except for its Super Over loss to Delhi Capitals. However, its real test awaits at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday, when it runs into a formidable Chennai Super Kings for the first time in IPL 2019.
There is nothing much to differentiate between both the teams when it comes to their ethos and balance. Both these aspects are quite distinct from the very start of this season, and more importantly Chennai and Kolkata know how to win matches.
It won't be wrong to call it a marquee clash with both teams coming in with wins and having eight points from five games.
Russell threat
The Kolkata batsmen, especially its top-order have to play the waiting game and need to take the innings deep. M.S Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu proved so in Chennai's last outing against Kings XI Punjab at this venue on Saturday.
Kolkata seem to have gone back to its tried and tested opening combination of Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine, with both of them finding form. Moreover, the batsmen following them - Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Karthik are also in good touch.
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After his blazing 13-ball 48* against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Andre Russell will be the talking point for the opposition. But on a sluggish Chepauk track, playing the big shots won't be easy and the spinners will once again have the spotlight.
CSK head coach Stephen Fleming too was not sure of what would be an ideal score against a batting-heavy Kolkata line-up.
"Our balance has been affected with Bravo, so our options are a little bit limited. KKR are now second [it is first] and I don't know what would be a good score with the dew factor, so it is really difficult reading and assessing conditions and committing to that, so we stick to what we normally do," Fleming said on Monday.
Spin battle
If Chennai has Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir and Ravindra Jadeja, Kolkata is no novice in this department, matching them equally with the spin trio of Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla.
From a strategic point of view, all of the above six players are likely to feature on Tuesday, and it would be an interesting battle to witness.
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With Faf du Plessis coming in at the top and Rayudu dropping down gives Chennai's batting solidity. The host may persist with the same team and if at all there is a change, then Deepak Chahar could make way for Mohit Sharma or Shardul Thakur. Dwayne Bravo's absence is hurting Chennai but Scott Kuggeleijn is proving to be an ideal replacement.
On the other hand, it is highly unlikely of Kolkata to make any changes with Harry Gurney making an excellent IPL debut in the game against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, where he returned figures of 2 for 25 from four overs.
It would be a tough task to breach Chennai's fortress but Kolkata will benefit from having local boy Dinesh Karthik leading the charge.
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