It’s KXIP vs KKR in the Indian Premier League Qualifier 1 on Wednesday, May 28.
The opening match of the playoffs was originally slated for Tuesday but rain caused the delay.
The match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata will start at 4 p.m. ITS (10:30 a.m. GMT).
The match will be broadcast on Set Max and Sony Six in India, OSN in the Middle East, GeoSuper in Pakistan, and Willow TV in the United States.
It will also be broadcast on Maasaranga TV in Bangladesh, CSN in Sri Lanka, SuperSport in Africa, StarHub in Singapore, PCCW in Hong Kong, Astro in Malaysia, EMTV in Papua New Guinea, Sky NZ in New Zealand, ITV in the United Kingdom, Sportsnet in Canada.
Live streaming will be available through Go Cricket, Star Sports, and nexGTV in India; OSN in the Middle East; TBC in Pakistan; Willow TV in the U.S.; Rogers in Canada; and Go Cricket internationally.
The winner of the Qualifier 1 will go straight to the final match, which is slated for Sunday, June 1 in Bengaluru.
The loser will not be kicked out of the playoffs. Instead, the loser will face the winner of the Eliminator, which pits CSK and MI against each other later on Wednesday.
The Qualifier 2 will be played on Friday.
Check out video highlights of the last match between KXIP and KKR, squads for this match, and a preview for this match via the IPL website below.
Highlights
The Knight Riders and Kings last met on May 11, and the Knight Riders won by nine wickets.
Squads
KXIP
George Bailey (C), David Miller, Manan Vohra, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Virender Sehwag, Rishi Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha, Shaun Marsh, Cheteshwar Pujara, Beuran Hendricks, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Thisara Perera, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Murali Kartik, Sandeep Sharma, Mandeep Singh, Akshar Patel, Parvinder Awana, Shardul Thakur, Anureet Singh, Shivam Sharma, Karanveer Singh
KKR
Gautam Gambhir (C), Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Morne Morkel, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey, Chris Lynn, Pat Cummins, Ryan ten Doeschate, Suryakumar Yadav, Andre Russell, Manvinder Bisla (W), Veer Pratap Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Debabrata Das, Sayan Mondal
Preview
“Qualifier 1 – the first of the four Playoff matches of Pepsi IPL 2014 will see the teams who finished in the top two positions in the standings clash for a direct passage to the tournament final.
“Kings XI Punjab, who’ve had their best-ever season in the IPL registering 11 wins, finished the league season atop the eight-team standings. They’ve been ruthless right through the season and have steamrolled opponents mercilessly. They are pitted against the Kolkata Knight Riders, who are one of two teams to have defeated them this season.
“For most part of the season, KXIP’s approach has been to go on an all-out attack. In recent times, Manan Vohra and Virender Sehwag have gone after the bowlers from the word go, while Glenn Maxwell has inflicted scars on bowlers like no other batsman – this despite low scores in his last three outings. David Miller is the other important batsman in the KXIP scheme of things, for he has the game to play second-fiddle when someone is going hammer and tongs at the other end, or turn on the heat when required.
“On the bowling front, the KXIP’s attack has been steady, if not menacing. Young Sandeep Sharma has been the pick of the bowlers, often rattling the opposition right at the top. Mitchell Johnson has not been at his best so far this season, and these last few matches give him the opportunity to redeem himself.
“At one stage, the Kolkata Knight Riders had just two wins from half their season’s league fixtures and faced an uphill task to qualify for the Playoffs. However, the team has turned the tables in stunning fashion, winning their remaining seven matches on the bounce and barging into the Playoffs. In their most recent outing, riding on a Yusuf Pathan blitz, they decimated Sunrisers Hyderabad and displaced Chennai Super Kings from second place in the points table.
“There will be plenty of eyeballs on Yusuf Pathan after his exploits in the previous match. The 31-year-old is coming into this match after having scored the fastest half-century in the IPL – off 15 balls. That knock was a demonstration of the fact that on his day the elder of the Pathan brothers is capable of running away with the match single-handedly.
“On the batting front, KKR have ridden on the starts provided by Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa. As a pair, they have operated on the premise that one of them bats for the majority of the 20 overs. Uthappa in particular has been an epitome of consistency; unlike many players who play cross-batted shots or muscle their way, Uthappa is reaping the rewards of playing orthodox cricket.
“On the bowling front, the four overs of Sunil Narine will be crucial as usual, while Morne Morkel will be expected to crank up the pace.”
