Produced by: Tarun Mishra
Kolkata Knight Riders will face Punjab Kings at Kolkata's Eden Gardens on April 26th.
At present, DC holds the second position on the points table with five victories out of seven matches. However, they have only secured two wins in their last five matches. On the other hand, Punjab finds themselves at the ninth spot on the points table, having won two out of eight matches. PBKS have suffered defeat in four of their last five matches.
The batting-friendly pitch at the Eden Gardens is known for its flat surface, offering consistent bounce throughout the match. Initially, fast bowlers may find some assistance from the bounce. However, as the game progresses, spinners are expected to become increasingly effective, capitalizing on the pitch's turn and bounce.
Kolkata is currently experiencing an intense heat wave, with an Orange Alert in effect for the city. In the evening, temperatures are expected to hover around 29 degrees Celsius, but it will feel more like 35 degrees due to the high humidity of around 78 percent. No rainfall is expected.
Sunil Narine, Phil Salt (WK), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Rilee Rossouw, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada
In their IPL history, Kolkata and Punjab have faced each other in 32 matches. KKR, led by Shah Rukh Khan, emerged victorious in 21 encounters, while PBKS, owned by Preity Zinta, secured 11 wins. Kolkata's highest total against PBKS stands at 245, whereas Punjab's highest total against KKR is 214.
Their most recent encounter took place in May 2023, where Punjab posted a score of 179/7 in 20 overs. In response, KKR chased down the target on the final ball of the match, clinching victory by 5 wickets. Andre Russell was named the Player of the Match for his impressive 23-ball 42.
According to Google's win probability, Kolkata has a 59 percent chance of defeating PBKS in their eighth match.