Kolkata Knight Riders hope for a change in their fortunes in this IPL

The woeful form of their captain Gautam Gambhir will be the major worry for Kolkata Knight Riders as they look to turn around their fortunes against the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL today. Kolkata has been struggling with their batting, with Gambhir having been dismissed for a duck thrice in the four matches he has led the team. He scored only one in their last match against Punjab, which they lost by 23 runs despite a good bowling effort.







The 2012 champions have one of the strongest batting line-ups among the eight IPL teams, but none of their batsmen, except Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey, have been consistent so far. Their batting problems have been compounded by the disappointing form of big-hitter Yusuf Pathan, who has scored just 17 in four innings. After a bright start to the tournament with an easy win over defending champions Mumbai Indians, Kolkata have found it difficult to click as a team.

Had it not been the stunning catch by Chris Lynn to dismiss AB de Villiers, they would also have lost to the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Knight Riders still have time to make a comeback as it is still early days in the tournament and, despite their inconsistent form, they are still in third place with two wins from four matches.

With Sunil Narine, the bowler with the most wickets this season (nine scalps), in fine touch and the bowling doing well, Kolkata would be hoping to end the UAE leg of their campaign on a winning note today. Just like Kolkata, Rajasthan also began their campaign with a win but suffered two consecutive losses before winning their last match against Bangalore. They have the same number of points as Kolkata.