IPL 2017: Umesh Yadav Returns As KKR Bowl First, Ishant Sharma Replaces T Natarajan
Apr 13, 2017 at 7:54 PM
Indian pacers Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma returned for their respective sides in place of uncapped players.
Winning a crucial toss in their first home game at Eden Gardens, Kolkata Knight Riders decided to bowl first. Colin de Grandhomme replaced injured Chris Lynn, whereas, Umesh Yadav and Piyush Chawla came in place of Ankit Rajpoot and Kuldeep Yadav respectively.
This change means that Robin Uthappa will open the innings with skipper Gautam Gambhir and Grandhome will succeed Yusuf Pathan to perform the role of Andre Russell, who has been banned for a period of one year.
In Kings XI Punjab camp, T Natarajan made way for senior pro-Ishant Sharma who will be playing his first IPL game of the season for the new franchise.
Here is what both the captain’s said at the toss –
Glenn Maxwell:
“We’ll go about it the same way as we went last time, be nice and positive. Have to assess the conditions quicker than last game. It’s up to the individual in the middle to assess what’s a good total. As soon as they can do that, it’s good. Just one change, Ishant comes in for Natarajan. They’ve been pretty good against us the last few years. Hopefully, we can come out on the right side today.”
Gautam Gambhir:
“We’re going to bowl. Looks a good track, not going to change much and there was a bit of dew two days back. It’s tough on him (Lynn). He was an important player for us. You can’t do much with injuries. We’re hoping he can recover quickly. We’ve got de Grandhomme for him. Umesh comes in for Rajpoot, and Piyush comes in for Kuldeep. We thought we needed more experience on this wicket, and Umesh has been bowling well in the Tests.”
Here is the playing XI of both the sides –
Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Manan Vohra, Hashim Amla, Axar Patel, Glenn Maxwell(c), Wriddhiman Saha(w), David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Gautam Gambhir(c), Robin Uthappa(w), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Colin de Grandhomme, Chris Woakes, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Trent Boult, Umesh Yadav.