Kolkata, April 6 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the toss and elected to bat against Punjab Kings in the 12th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2206 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinjkya Rahane said, “We are going to bat first. Looks like a good wicket — a little bit on the dry side. But looks like a very good wicket. Slightly less grass on the surface, which is why we want to bat first. It is all about having that belief and having that confidence. It is all about winning those small moments. You have to give your best, and if you find that right moment, give your best and have that belief. We will think about that. Two forced changes — Varun Chakaravarthy got injured in the last game, and Sunil Narine is sick. Navdeep Saini is in for Chakaravarthy, and Rovman Powell is in for Narine.”

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer said, “I was supposed to bowl as well, so I’m kind of happy with the decision he made. Blossomed during his time with Delhi Capitals, and he’s someone who gives a lot of freedom and confidence to the youngsters in the team. He’s an inspiration in himself, having played outstanding cricket over the years, and we’ve always looked up to him as one of the best cricketers in the world. So, yeah, walking out alongside him is a phenomenal feeling.”

Playing XIs:

Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Impact substitutes: Vishnu Vinod, Praveen Dubey, Priyansh Arya, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge

Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Navdeep Saini, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi

Impact substitutes: Manish Pandey, Tejasvi Dahiya, Rahul Tripathi, Saurabh Dubey, Blessing Muzarabani

–IANS

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