A day after he was involved in a bitter row with rival captain Shane Warne, Sourav Ganguly tries to bring his focus back to cricket. The Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain discusses a point with coach John Buchanan during a practice session in Mohali on Friday, the eve of their match against hosts Kings XI Punjab. Picture by Sanjay Kurl

Mohali: Desperate for a win, the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday sweated under the blazing sun for over three hours.

Led by captain Sourav Ganguly, the team that had flown in from Jaipur earlier on Friday chose not to speak to the media. While the Kings XI Punjab skipper, Yuvraj Singh, preferred to skip the practice session, the Knight Riders chose the blazing sun to make a statement.

Reeling under controversies, both captains avoided the media. Both had their coaches to do the talking.

For the Knight Riders, the match against Kings XI is crucial. “Though it is too early in the tournament and there are more games to be played, a good show here on Saturday will set us rolling again. It would also help the newcomers in the side to gel well,” an official accompanying the team said.

With three straight losses, the Knight Riders wasted no time on their arrival to head to the PCA stadium for some strenuous practice in the gym as well as the nets.

With the wicket promising to play as well as it has been during the last couple of games, a keen contest is on the cards. Saturday’s match is a sell-out, the first time since the tournament began.

Both teams will be without some of their key players.

While Australia captain Ricky Ponting and New Zealander Brendon McCullum have left the team to do duty for the national sides, the Kings XI would also be without speedster Brett Lee and Simon Katich.

There was more trouble for the visitors as key batsman Brad Hodge was unwell and down with fever.

With the Mohali wicket likely to support pacers, the hosts are expected to play three fast bowlers — Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth and V.R.V. Singh. Piyush Chawla would be the lone spinner.

The Knight Riders are expected to field Ishant Sharma, Umar Gul, Ajit Agarkar and Ashok Dinda.

It’ll be quite a challenge for Shah Rukh Khan’s side to contain the likes of Shaun Marsh, Yuvraj, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Ramnaresh Sarwan.