The defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), are keen to follow up their convincing 80-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad with another win when they face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Match 21 of IPL 2025 at the Eden Gardens. With the bulk of the playing XI remaining the same, however, one name missing from KKR's playing eleven has caused a few raised eyebrows: Moeen Ali.

The experienced English all-rounder has been substituted by left-arm Australian pacer Spencer Johnson for this do-or-die match. This strategic change, confirmed in the toss by skipper Ajinkya Rahane, is based heavily on the Kolkata pitch condition.

Ex-Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden, in his pitch report, showed some grass and even the chance of a sticky surface in the first innings. Such a surface early on is perfect for fast bowlers to be able to produce bounce and movement something perfectly suited for a tall fast bowler like Johnson.

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Moeen's Quiet Season So Far

Spencer Johnson has played three matches this season, picking a single wicket while leaking runs at an expensive economy of 10.42. Moeen Ali, however, had a relatively subdued IPL 2025, picking up just five runs and taking two wickets across two matches. The switchover might be as much tactical as performance-related.

KKR has also recruited Vaibhav Arora as a cover for Angkrish Raghuvanshi, reflecting a desire for more bowling depth. Having a slightly shorter boundary on one side and favorable bowling conditions to start with, KKR is very keen to strike at the top with the pace.

With KKR targeting back-to-back victories, Moeen's absence seems a condition-based short-term decision. Since the tournament is in its early stages, Moeen Ali can be anticipated to return once games and conditions are involved.

KKR vs LSG: Playing XIs

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Lucknow Super Giants Playing XI: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c and wk), David Miller, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan

Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Spencer Johnson, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy

While the IPL 2025 mega auction is just less than 10 days away, Gujarat Titans’ released player claimed a five-wicket haul to guide the hosts Australia to secure a T20I series win against Pakistan. 

It was the second game of the three-match T20I series between Australia and Pakistan. Leading the series by 1-0, Australian captain Josh Inglis chose to bat first. After Australia scored 147/9, Pakistan were all out for 134 runs. 

After the openers Matthew Short (32) and Jake Fraser-McGurk (20) provided a firing start, Glenn Maxwell (21) and Aaron Hardie (28) added some useful runs along with Marcus Stoinis (14) and Tim David (18).

Spencer Johnson recorded his first fifer in T20 career

Australian left-arm pacer Spencer Johnson was the hero in the Aussie bowling line-up. With the bowling figures of 4-0-26-5, Johnson secured the hosts’ T20I series win and won the Player of the Match award. 

The no.3 batter Sahibzada Farhan (5) was Johnson’s first victim, as the left-arm pacer took the wicket in his second over of the innings. 

Later, in the 10th over, Johnson dismissed skipper and opener Mohammad Rizwan (16) and Salman Agha (0) on back-to-back deliveries. 

Struggling at 44/4, Usman Khan and Irfan Khan had a 58-run partnership for the fifth wicket in quick time. Johnson returned to complete his quota in the 16th over, where he dismissed Usman (52) and Abbas Afridi (4) between three deliveries. 

Although Irfan Khan fought hard with his 37 not out off 28 balls (four fours and one six), he didn’t get any support on the other end. While the economical Adam Zampa took two wickets, Pakistan lost their last two batters through the run-outs. 

With 5/26, Johnson recorded Australia’s best T20I bowling figures against Pakistan and the third-best overall T20I bowling figures against Pakistan. 

Johnson served for Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2024

It was Johnson’s first fifer in his T20 career. While he has taken 12 wickets in seven T20I matches, the left-arm fast bowler has picked up 69 T20 wickets in 59 games.

Johnson made his IPL debut in the 2024 edition serving for Gujarat Titans. The left-arm pacer picked up four wickets in five games in the IPL 2024. For the IPL 2025 mega auction, Johnson is on the final 574 list (Serial Number 179, Set Number 26, Set FA3) with a base price of INR 2 crore.