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Buoyed by their spectacular win over Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of this season’s campaign, Kolkata Knight Riders will take on spirited qualifiers Lahore Lions in their second game of the Champions League Twenty20 in Hyderabad on Sunday.
KKR scored a remarkable victory over Chennai thanks to a scintillating knock of 58 runs by Andre Russell and Ryan ten Doeschate's unbeaten 51.
Russell came into the tournament following a successful stint in the Carribean Premier League, and Ten Doeschate came good when the top order failed to fire.
Kolkata's top batsmen can be match-winners individually and their combined might can make things really difficult for the rivals.
Besides a strong batting line-up, the Kolkata side boasts a competitive bowling department that includes the deadly Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Umesh Yadav, Piyush Chawla and Yusuf Pathan.
Lahore captain Hafeez was impressive in the qualifiers
Lahore Lions entered the main draw of the tournament following two wins in three matches in the Qualifying Group.
The Lions first thrashed Mumbai Indians by six wickets with eight balls remaining in the match on September 13 and followed that up with a comprehensive 55-run victory against Southern Express on September 16, though the team lost to Northern Districts team on September 14.
Lahore's Saad Nasim, Captain Mohammed Hafeez, Ahmed Shezad and Umar Akmal have been impressive with the bat.
Hafeez struck a superb 67-run knock in the match against Southern Express, while Umar Akmal also impressed in their maiden match against Mumbai Indians.
Lahore bowlers Aizaz Cheema, Wahab Riaz and Imran Ali have been successful in the qualifiers but the team will need to put up a very strong all-round performance to make a match out of the tie against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday.
Let’s wait and watch!
The Teams (from):
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (C), Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Ryan ten Doeschate, Pat Cummins, Andre Russell and Manvinder Bisla.
Lahore Lions: Mohammad Hafeez (C), Ahmed Shezad, Umer Siddiq, Umar Akmal, Nasir Jamshed, Salman Ali, Asif Raza, Mustafa Iqbal, Wahab Riaz, Aizaz Cheema, Imran Ali, Saad Nasim, Adnan Rasool, Muhammad Saeed and Ali Manzoor.