KKR vs LSG: Spencer Johnson’s return angers fans; Kolkata faithful come up with ‘million dollar’ Anrich Nortje question

Spencer Johnson was the only change Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Tuesday during their IPL 2025 encounter, replacing Moeen Ali. Picked as a replacement for Mitchell Starc, who went to Delhi Capitals, as a like-for-like replacement for the left-handed seam option, Spencer Johnson has so far leaked runs than taking wickets for the defending champions.

The Australian played KKR’s first three games, conceding 87 runs with just one wicket in the pocket. He was replaced by Moeen Ali in KKR’s previous game against Sunrisers Hyderabad which the Ajinkya Rahane-led team won comprehensively.

The story remained the same as the 29-year-old once again conceded 46 runs in his first three overs at a economy of 15.30 without any success. The inclusion of Spencer Johnson didn’t go well with the fans who expressed their frustration on social media.

Where is Anrich Nortje? fans ask

Meanwhile, the fans have asked a ‘million dollar’ question about why Anrich Nortje is not playing despite bowling at the nets. The South African missed the ICC Champions Trophy due to a back injury and is believed to be not fully fit for playing.

KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo called Anrich Nortje the leader of the fast bowling group but is yet to provide a clear update on the latter. “Well, I would say he’s the leader of the fast bowling group. The physio will have a better idea as to how far he is, but at the moment, I think, we are all impressed with his work ethics, with his bowling loads, very close,” Dwayne Bravo had said.

KKR vs LSG playing XIs

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

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

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