Fantasy: Back an in-form Conway to continue golden run against KKR

Chennai Super Kings have started the season in the strongest possible fashion, with four wins out of the six games this season. But on the other hand, there is Kolkata Knight Riders, a side that has struggled to find any sort of momentum in the first few weeks of the 2023 IPL season. 

At Eden Gardens, the Knights have a mixed record this season, with one win and a loss. Even the other night against Delhi Capitals, the Knight Riders struggled to hit any sort of form with the bat, forcing them into a tough situation. Against an in-form Chennai, they would rather only be hopeful that their team hits form. 

Ground Details

Thus far in IPL 2023, Eden Gardens has played host to two IPL games, one against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the other against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Interestingly enough, both the games have seen the teams batting first put 200 runs on the board. In the previous game, Sunrisers posted 228 in the first innings before Kolkata came close with 205, showing how batting-friendly it has been. 

As a bowling unit though, you would want to stack your team with more spinners than pacers at the venue, with 15 wickets taken by spinners this year. In comparison, the pacers have only picked up 13 wickets. Even in terms of economy rate, spinners (7.8 RPO) have a significant upper-hand over pacers (11.1 RPO). 

Advisably, back your batters and spinners ahead of this clash. 

Suggested Team

While you could go for the above team, you can choose your team from Cricket.com's Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.

Suggested captains

For Small League: Devon Conway (Captain), Sunil Narine (Vice-captain)

For Grand League: Ravindra Jadeja (Captain), Venkatesh Iyer (Vice-captain)

Stats that matter

• Amongst all venues in this year’s IPL, Eden Gardens has been the most favourable venue for the batters, with an average run-rate of 9.8, with 760 runs being scored in just two clashes thus far. Alongside that, it is also a venue that has seen the first century of this IPL.
• While spending most of his time on the bench last season, Devon Conway has come to Chennai’s rescue multiple times during this year’s IPL. Not only has he scored a hattrick of fifties, but he has also often ensured that his scoring rate has been optimum, with a strike-rate of 144.1 in the tournament. His last three innings read: 77*, 83 and 50. 
• Eden Gardens is a happy hunting ground for Sunil Narine. Even though he is coming on the back of a horror show against Delhi, his numbers at the venue are mind-boggling. In 46 innings at the venue, Narine has bagged 58 wickets, averaging just 19.2. Further, against Chennai, Narine has picked up 20 wickets.
• Chennai Super Kings have the best batting numbers in the powerplay, with a run-rate of 9.9, and an average of 71.2. Up against them are Kolkata, a side that has the second-worst record in this year’s tournament, at an average of 44.8, and a strike-rate of 27. If you do want to back someone, back the Chennai openers for this clash.

Grand League Punts

• Ravindra Jadeja has indeed turned a new page in his IPL book, with a match-winning spell against Sunrisers in Chennai’s previous clash. This year, the left-arm spinner has picked up nine wickets, with an economy of 6.8, and is also the third-best spinner in the competition. Against the Knight Riders, Jadeja has picked up 18 wickets and has struck eight times at Eden Gardens. Kolkata are the second-worst team this season against spin (124.8 SR) with the lowest runs as well. 
• Even in a struggling KKR outfit, Venkatesh Iyer has stood out like a gem. In six games this year, Iyer has scored 234 runs with a strike-rate of 168.3, which includes a century. Against Chennai, Iyer has a good track record, with 84 runs in three clashes, including a half-century that he scored in IPL 2021. So having him on your team could be beneficial.

Top Criclytics Projections

Probable XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: Jason Roy, Litton Das (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Mandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora/Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Singh, Matheesha Pathirana