Lucknow Super Giants are placed third in IPL 2023 points table and need just a win against Kolkata Knight Riders to seal their playoffs spot.
Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz is hoping to settle scores against his Afghanistan teammate Naveen-ul-Haq when the two-time champions meet Lucknow Super Giants at the Eden Gardens on Friday in IPL 2023.
KKR are all but out of the playoffs contention with 12 points from 13 games. LSG, on the other hand, need a win to cement their last four spot. LSG are currently placed third in the table with 15 points from 13 games.
Revenge on Gurbaz’s mind isn’t from the ongoing IPL, but from their national team practice games. The right-hand pacer always ‘teases’ Gurbaz for his wicket during the practice games in the national team setup.
However, this time, the wicketkeeper-batter wants to settle scores on the actual field. “In practice matches he (Naveen) got me out every time, and he always keeps telling me that ‘I got you out, I got you out’…
“But once the real time comes, I’m gonna hit him,” Gurbaz said on a lighter note in an interaction posted in KKR Knight Club. Gurbaz hopes to hit Naveen for sixes. “I met him once in a T10 match and hit him for some boundaries.
“But this time, I hope I hit him for some sixes,” said the right-hander who has scored 217 runs in 10 games in IPL 2023. However, Naveen had been in the headlines in IPL 2023 for all the wrong reasons after his altercation with former RCB skipper Virat Kohli.
It was during the same game at Ekana Stadium where KL Rahul got injurued while trying to the save a boundary hit by Faf du Plessis. Rahul was ruled out of the tournament after that. Meanwhile, Gurbaz rated his 23-year-old teammate highly.
“He’s one of the best bowlers in the T20 circuit. He’s very smart and very skillful bowler,” Gurbaz said. “LSG are a good team and have the momentum. But we also won our last match. We will try our best to make it possible.”
Meanwhile, KKR only have mathematical probability for making the last four. The Nitish Rana-led side equal on points with Rajasthan Royals and are placed seventh. For them to qualify, KKR would hope that Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore lose their respective final matches and beat LSG by a huge margin that would boost their NRR.
