Lions will be no pushovers

Lions will be no pushovers
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Highlights

They come into Sunday’s game, their second in the ongoing Oppo Champions League Twenty20, with the confidence levels fully bolstered.

Hyderabad: They come into Sunday’s game, their second in the ongoing Oppo Champions League Twenty20, with the confidence levels fully bolstered. And they have reason to hope for an encore when they take on the gutsy qualifiers Lahore Lions at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in the day’s second match here.

Having pulled off a miraculous win over the fancied Chennai Super Kings in the championships opener two days back, the Gautam Gambhir-led Kolkata Knight Riders are in top gear.
Andre Russell
What held them in good stead was that the bowlers initially and the lower-order batsmen lived up to expectations in the crunch situations.

If the bowlers gave a good start, the improbable result in their favour came through the blades of Andre Russell (58) and Ryan ten Doeschate's (51 not out). However, rather than get complacent, the team should worry the fact that the frontline batsmen failed to deliver, particularly Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Manvinder Bisla and Manish Pandey.

In their n way, Lahore Lions have done well by coming through the grind. They entered the main draw of the tournament with two wins from three matches. It would be quite a test for the spirited players from the reigning IPL champions because the Lions roared their way past the defending champion Mumbai Indians. This particular win, which saw the champions getting knocked out, would be enough of a morale-booster for them when they take on KKR.

The advantage with Lahore is the depth in talent and having players of proven ability like Mohammed Hafeez, Umar Akmal and Aizaz Cheema. On their day, they can account for the best of outfits, which means that the match could go either way.

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