KKR vs LSG Live Score, IPL 2023: Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni hold fort after Lucknow lose half their side against Kolkata in must-win match

 

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants Live Score: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana won the toss and opted to bowl against the Lucknow Super Giants. Kolkata have started with the same team which defeated Chennai while there were two changes for Lucknow as Karan Sharma comes in for Deepak Hooda and Krishnappa Gowtham replaces Swapnil.

KKR are currently placed seventh in the points table. LSG, on the other hand, are placed third in the points table and a win will guarantee them a spot in the knockouts.

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy. Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Karan Sharma, Prerak Mankad, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya(c), Ayush Badoni, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohsin Khan

Follow KKR vs LSG live updates below

KKR vs LSG IPL 2023 Live: Fighting fire with fire

Tushar Bhaduri: What differentiates responsible from irresponsible batting when it comes to T20 batting? LSG had lost three wickets, including the crucial one of Stoinis, before Krunal Pandya and Quinton de Kock perished playing the slog-sweep to Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy respectively. Now with half their sie gone, Lucknow were staring down the barrel in a match that could decide whether they progressed to the playoffs. Conventional and conservative wisdom would suggest that both batsmen were a bit reckless in their shot selection, or at least their execution. But incoming batsman Nicholas Pooran doesn't seem to have a defensive bone in his body. His first three balls went for 4, 4 and 6 – the last one a one-handed straight hit off Chakravarthy. The West Indian followed it up with another maximum off the bowler's next over. If any of those shots had gone awry, there would have been many a raised eyebrows about the 'needlessness' of the shot. But it's much easier to be wise after an event.

KKR vs LSG IPL 2023 Live: Pace works for KKR

Tushar Bhaduri: The Kolkata Knight Riders team management has made no secret of the fact that they wanted a spin-friendly wicket at their home venue. But the curator didn't play ball saying they were not obliged to cater to the franchise's demands. Instead, it was the KKR pace bowlers Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana who got some pace and bounce from the Eden Gardens surface. The first three or four overs had the Lucknow Super Giants batsmen on a tight leash, before they broke free towards the end of the Powerplay. But Arora proved that there is more to the KKR bowling than just spin, when he scalped two in one over to dent the visitors – the dismissal of Aussie Marcus Stoinis, the hero of LSG's last game, with a short ball at the throat the most satisfying one.

20:23 (IST)

20 MAY 2023

KKR vs LSG IPL 2023 Live: Lucknow lose captain Krunal

Narine to bowl the 10th over and Krunal with a single to start. de Kock switch hits but it's straight to Russell in the deep. Another wicket goes down and it's the LSG captain who tries to alleviate the pressure. Goes for a sweep and Rinku takes the catch. LSG 71/4 after 9.4 overs

KKR vs LSG Live: Kolkata head coach plays down pitch talks

KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit, speaking on the eve of the match, shed some light on the pitch 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.” (Read our preview here)

18:19 (IST)

20 MAY 2023

KKR vs LSG IPL 2023 Live: Krunal wants to walk his own path

Since getting captaincy after KL Rahul's injury, LSG's Krunal Pandya has inevitably been compared to younger brother Hardik, who is the skipper of defending champions Gujarat Titans. 

"I don’t want to imitate anyone. Yes, I want to learn good things from everyone but at the same time, I want to be myself,” Pandya recently said about his captaincy.

18:16 (IST)

20 MAY 2023

KKR vs LSG Live: Lucknow will keep one eye on the CSK match

In the other match of the day, Chennai look to be in control against Delhi Capiatls with the DC 61/3 after 9 overs in a chase of 223 runs. If CSK win, they are guaranteed to finish 2nd while it'll get a little more complicated for LSG.

18:13 (IST)

20 MAY 2023

KKR vs LSG IPL 2023 Live: Lucknow Form Guide

LSG started the tournament on a great note, but as the tournament progressed, they faced a drop in momentum. However, in their last match, they defeated Mumbai Indians by five runs. Mohsin Khan bowled a brilliant last over and snatched the victory for the jaws of defeat. LSG would want to carry their momentum pick up two valuable points. In their last five outings, LSG have won two, lost two and one match was washed out.

LSG form guide (W, W, L, NR, L)

18:12 (IST)

20 MAY 2023

KKR vs LSG Live: Kolkata Form Guide

Kolkata Knight Riders have been on and off throughout the tournament. While in some matches, they have been outstanding, in others, they have been below average. The Knight Riders are currently hanging around the cliff as far as making it to the playoffs is considered. In their last five games, they have won three matches and have kept themselves mathematically alive by winning in Chennai.

KKR form guide (W, L, W, W, L)