KKR aim for revival against struggling Pune

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders would be looking to restore lost pride when they take on the struggling Pune Warriors in their Pepsi Indian Premier League match here tomorrow.
Both the teams are in the bottom half of the points table with the Knight Riders at eight points from just four wins in 12 games. Pune, on the other hand, are currently positioned last with four points, having lost 10 out of 12 matches.
It will a great chance for the title-holders, who are virtually out of contention for a berth in the four-team play-offs, to redeem themselves against a side enduring a nightmarish campaign this season.

However, it would certainly not be an easy task for KKR, especially after the thrashing they received at the hands of Mumbai Indians last night.
Having posted 170, Mumbai Indians bowled out the Knight Riders for a mere 105 in 18.2 overs to register a 65-run win with only Jacques Kallis (24) and Debabrata Das (23) crossing the 20-run mark.
The Knight Riders' top-order batting has waxed and waned in IPL-6. None signifies this aspect better than captain Gautam Gambhir who started off with three half-centuries only to be left struggling since then.

Though Gambhir is still the top scorer for his side with 320 runs, his poor run with the bat after the great beginning has put pressure on the late-order batsmen. Even the ever-dependable Jacques Kallis (243 runs) has not been consistent.

Big-hitting Eoin Morgan has been the main batsman in the middle-order with 283 runs, while Yusuf Pathan, after showing glimpses of his talent in the match against Rajasthan Royals, was back among the low scorers.
As far as their bowling is concerned, Kolkata have been depending a lot on their unorthodox spinner Sunil Narine (16 wickets) to get the breakthroughs.
With no other tear-away opening bowler to bank on, especially after Ryan McLaren was smashed for 60 runs in four overs last night, Brett Lee (4 wickets) could be given his fourth game of the season to support the likes of Kallis (11), Rajat Bhatia (10) and Laxmipathy Balaji (6).