Mayank Yadav's Absence Looms Over IPL Clash Between KKR and LSG at Eden Gardens

The quick bowler Mayank Yadav of the Lucknow Super Giants would most likely not be available at Eden Gardens on Sunday afternoon, so the Kolkata Knight Riders may relax.

Mayank, the newest addition to India's fast-bowling arsenal, would have provided entertainment on the lively Eden track and in front of an anticipated full house. Mayank has routinely broken the 150 kmph mark in the IPL 2024.

Such "blessings" don't mean much to coach Gautam Gambhir because he wanted "the opposition to put their best team" against KKR. However, Mayank has been forced to rest for the last two games due to "a little bit of tightness at the top of his hip," which has put their bowling combination in a difficult situation.

His performances in match-winning three-wicket hauls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings have elevated him to consideration for the T20 World Cup. After the spinners failed to make an impact, the LSG bowlers labored without him. Their defeat over Delhi Capitals on Friday—their second in five games—reflected that.

As was seen during KKR's lone home game against Sunrisers Hyderabad last month, the carry will also favor the strokeplayers, even though the spinners may have some say on the Eden turf. They now play five back-to-back games at the Eden after three away games.

If Andre Russell and Phil Salt's half-centuries had helped KKR get out to a fast start, Heinrich Klaasen of Sunrisers seemed like he could take the game with 63 off 29 balls until Harshit Rana saved them in the last over.

Before falling to Chennai Super Kings earlier this week, KKR was able to keep up their winning momentum for three games. The opening combination of Sunil Narine and Salt has been extremely effective in the Powerplay. However, once they failed to live up to the hype in Chennai, the rest of the batting collapsed.

Though Shreyas Iyer is expected to perform well, young Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been a valuable addition. The skipper of KKR hasn't been able to elevate the strike rate, which has had a negative impact on the team total versus CSK.

Suyash Sharma, an Impact substitute, will likely join Narine and Varun Chakravarthy as KKR reverts to their three-spinner lineup. It might be effective against players like Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis, and Quinton de Kock.

The players have felt safe and happy together since Gambhir returned to the KKR locker room, and this has shown in their play.

The initial burst from KKR's Mitchell Starc might set the tone for LSG's innings, but the Australian hasn't played at his best in this format. According to Gambhir, "four games doesn't make him a bad bowler." "And he's not a particularly good bowler despite four decent games either."

Although he didn't practice on Saturday, the left-armer has been improving his toe-crushing yorker technique to make it more potent. Thus, anticipate more of the same from the priciest IPL cricket player.

It's KKR's home game, but as LSG is a part of the Sanjiv Goenka-led RPSG Group based in the city, it's also about LSG's homecoming. Similar to the previous season, LSG will wear the green and maroon colors of Mohun Bagan in an attempt to divide the supporters' loyalties. It's unclear if that will bring them luck.

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