Three-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has experienced its worst-ever start to an Indian Premier League (IPL) season after three matches and would like to record its first win in 2026 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.

A season expected to pose a problem of plenty has turned out to be one with plenty of problems for the Ajinkya Rahane-led side, which is struggling to find the right bowling combination due to injuries to its key pacers and the lacklustre performance of its reliable spinners.

Without consistency in its batting, barring young Angkrish Raghuvanshi, KKR has found itself in a soup. Following two losses and a point from the washed-out match against Punjab Kings, KKR would look to overcome the odds.

Top wicket-taker Blessing Muzarabani should lead the attack with support from Vaibhav Arora and Kartik Tyagi. Sunil Narine, who recovered from his abdominal pain and trained on Wednesday, looked set to return, while there were doubts over an injured Varun Chakaravarthy.

In batting, Rahane, Finn Allen, and Rinku Singh may shoulder the responsibility, while the team will be keen to see its Aussie import Cameron Green getting back his touch.

While KKR will be eager to get off the blocks, LSG, at its owner Sanjiv Goenka’s home city, would like to carry forward its momentum after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad.

LSG, studded with capable batters including captain Rishabh Pant, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, and Nicholas Pooran, will look to capitalise on KKR’s unsettled attack.

A resurgent Mohammed Shami on his ‘home’ ground, the effective Prince Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, wily spinner Digvesh Rathi, and another ‘home’ boy Shahbaz Ahmed are capable of disturbing any batting line-up.

With both sides hoping to outsmart each other, LSG is likely to enjoy some advantage because of its effective bowling.

Published on Apr 08, 2026