Eden Gardens, Kolkata will witness the match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). Kolkata is placed 8th while Punjab is placed 7th in the points table.
Both the teams must win to make their chances for qualification much better. KKR definitely need to enter the double digit points while on the other hand Punjab Kings will want to increment their points with some good run rate. KKR lost their last three matches at Eden Gardens and they definitely want to change the stats.
PC: Google
Openers of KKR’s are performing moderate. First time Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz opened together against SRH but Gurbaz got out early. But still these two are performing pretty well and KKR will again try this same combination. Roy showed some fierceful innings in the tournament. Kings openers Prabhsimran Singh and Shikhar Dhawan also provided some runs at the top. But here also sometimes Prabhsimran made runs and sometimes Dhawan made runs. Their combined performance is missing. Despite this, in this tournament these two teams are having the lowest average opening stands- KKR (20) and PBKS (20.1).
Liam Livingstone finally showed his destruction against MI where he made 82 runs in 42 balls. He can easily change the game atmosphere through his powerful hits. Kings must be feeling better by his performance. Matt Short needs to spend more time on the pitch since many times after getting settled down he gets out early.
Venkatesh Iyer started off the season well but later on he is struggling to convert his innings into a big one. He already scored a century but still he needs to step up and score more runs. Nitish Rana, the man leading the team, is struggling with his inconsistency and he is also unable to convert his innings into a big one.
Rinku Singh is the top scorer for Knight Riders this season till now. He made 316 runs till now and his consistency is the main reason behind KKR successful run chase or high score at the end. Andre Russell is slowly finding his rhythm back and he also starts hitting at the death which the team misses the most. He can easily change the KKR run rate after facing a few balls.
PC: Google
Jitesh Sharma what an incredible wicket keeper PBKS has got. His powerlifting shots in the death definitely helps the team pretty much. Against MI also he made 49 runs in just 25 balls. Sam Curran and Shahrukh Khan are also great finishers for the team but they till now miss that destruction which Kings are expecting.
The Knight Riders spin department is highly supporting the team. The trio takes useful wickets at regular intervals. Sunil Narine has looked a little bit expensive in the last few matches but the team is expecting that his experience in the team will definitely bring his performance back. Varun Chakaravarthy is KKR’s leading wicket taker and he takes 14 wickets till now. Suyash Sharma too supported him well and he is 2nd most wicket taker for the team. In the last match against SRH, Vaibhav Arora and Shardul Thakur clinched 2 wickets each.
Punjab is highly dependent upon Arshdeep Singh, but in his last match against MI he gave 66 runs with an whooping economy of 17.22. Despite this he already took 16 wickets in the tournament. Nathan Ellis’ consistency needs to be improved. Rabada is looking out of touch due to which he was replaced by Ellis in the last match. Rahul Chahar and Sam Curran both are mostly expensive in their spells.
Head to Head (KKR vs PBKS):
Matches- 31
| KKR | PBKS | |
| WON | 20 | 11 |
| HIGHEST SCORE | 245 | 214 |
| LOWEST SCORE | 109 | 119 |
Pitch Preview:
Match will be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. It will be a heaven for the batters. Ball will easily come to the bat and due to its short boundaries more and more sixes can be seen. It might also assist some turn for the spinners but still the ball might not turn much.
Probable Playing 11 for KKR:
Jason Roy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana ©, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Probable playing 11 for PBKS:
Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan ©, Matt Short, Liam Livinsgtone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar, Rishi Dhawan.
Predicted best 11 for the match:
Jitesh Sharma, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shikhar Dhawan, Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh.