IPL 2024: Shamar Joseph handed debut as KKR win toss, opt to bowl first vs LSG

Kolkata, April 14 (IANS) Two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in match 28 of IPL 2024 at the Eden Gardens on Sunday afternoon.

Both KKR and LSG have six points each, but the two teams are placed at second and fourth places in the points table respectively, due to net run rate. KKR are playing just their second home game of IPL after 22 days, with the occasion also being the Bengali New Year.

After winning the toss, captain Shreyas Iyer said fast-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana is a part of the playing eleven, with left-handed batter Rinku Singh expected to come in the batting innings as an impact player.

"Feels nostalgic, the crowd is electrifying and this was what we missed playing out of Kolkata, great feeling to be back. I've no idea about the conditions, the last game was a belter, but we're professionals and will have to adapt," he said.

LSG skipper KL Rahul, who will be sporting the famous Mohun Bagan maroon and green jersey for Sunday's game, said Devdutt Padikkal, Arshad Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq miss out on the playing eleven. Deepak Hooda and Mohsin Khan come into the playing eleven, with West Indies fast-bowler Shamar Joseph being handed an IPL debut.

Jospeh was at the forefront of West Indies’ Test win over Australia by eight runs in the day-night Test match at The Gabba in Brisbane. He set aside a right toe injury to scalp a sensational seven-wicket haul in the second innings for the visitors’ to secure a magical victory over Australia, which led to West Indies drawing the series at 1-1.

"I would have bowled first, but this does look like a good pitch. It was important to recover on a short turnover, it's just about making sure that everyone is rested and recovered well," he said.

Playing XIs-

Kolkata Knight Riders: Phil Salt (wicket-keeper), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy and Harshit Rana

Substitutes: Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rinku Singh

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (captain & wicket-keeper), Quinton de Kock, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Shamar Joseph and Mohsin Khan

Substitutes: Arshad Khan, Prerak Mankad, M Siddharth, Amit Mishra and K Gowtham

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