Matheesha Pathirana’s much-anticipated return will have to wait, as Kolkata Knight Riders left the Sri Lankan pacer out of the playing XI for their crucial clash against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium. Despite being available, KKR opted for continuity. Captain Ajinkya Rahane said, “We were looking to bat first. At the moment, it’s important to see how we are playing as a team. The bowling unit is coming together nicely. The reason we wanted to bat first was to give freedom to our batting unit so they can bat freely.” He added that the break helped the side reset. “The week off was really important. We sat together, reflected on the last seven games and areas to improve.” Rishabh Pant won the toss and chose to bowl, stressing the need for clarity in execution. “We want to put the opposition on the back foot first and find answers as a batting group,” he said. Pant also confirmed one change, with George Linde coming in. “We have a lot of leaders in the group. We are close to finding our way. We just need to stick together.” With both teams sitting at the bottom of the table, the decision to leave out Pathirana adds another layer of intrigue in a must-win contest.Teams:Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Tim Seifert(w), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik TyagiLucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Mukul Choudhary, George Linde, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Mohsin Khan
