Kings XI Punjab will lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 52nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Chandigarh on Friday. The game is expected to be a great one as both teams need a win to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the playoffs. In the previous meeting between both teams earlier in the competition, it was Kolkata who came out on top with a 28-run margin.
The home side will come in the match low on confidence as they've suffered three consecutive defeats, the last of which came in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the batting department, Punjab will be relying on the likes of in-form Lokesh Rahul, veteran West Indies opener Chris Gayle and young Mayank Agarwal to score bulk of runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of captain Ravichandran Ashwin and pacer Mohammed Shami to provide timely breakthroughs.
On the other hand, Kolkata will come in the match high on confidence after they finally managed to break their six-match losing streak with a 34-run win against Mumbai Indians in their previous match. In the batting department, KKR will be relying on the likes of captain Dinesh Karthik, veteran right-hander Robin Uthappa, young Nitish Rana, Australia's Chris Lynn and in-form Andre Russell, whereas with the ball in hand, the onus will be on the spin trio of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav to provide timely breakthroughs.
Kings XI Punjab will lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 52nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Chandigarh on Friday. The game is expected to be a great one as both teams need a win to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the playoffs. In the previous meeting between both teams earlier in the competition, it was Kolkata who came out on top with a 28-run margin.
The home side will come in the match low on confidence as they've suffered three consecutive defeats, the last of which came in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the batting department, Punjab will be relying on the likes of in-form Lokesh Rahul, veteran West Indies opener Chris Gayle and young Mayank Agarwal to score bulk of runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of captain Ravichandran Ashwin and pacer Mohammed Shami to provide timely breakthroughs.
On the other hand, Kolkata will come in the match high on confidence after they finally managed to break their six-match losing streak with a 34-run win against Mumbai Indians in their previous match. In the batting department, KKR will be relying on the likes of captain Dinesh Karthik, veteran right-hander Robin Uthappa, young Nitish Rana, Australia's Chris Lynn and in-form Andre Russell, whereas with the ball in hand, the onus will be on the spin trio of Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav to provide timely breakthroughs.
Pitch Conditions: Pitch at the venue is a good one for batting and is expected to provide more assistance to the pacers than spinners.
Player Recommendations:
Batsman: Lokesh Rahul (10.5 cr)
First in the list of key players features Kings XI Punjab's Lokesh Rahul. The right-hander is having an excellent tournament with the bat in hand as he is the leading run-scorer for franchise with 520 runs at an average of 57.77 and with a strike-rate of 131.64, which included one century and five half-centuries.
Wicket-keeper: Dinesh Karthik (9 cr)
Second in the list of key players features Kolkata Knight Riders' Dinesh Karthik. The wicketkeeper-batsman is having a decent tournament with the bat in hand for the franchise where he has scored 229 runs at an average of 32.71 and with a strike-rate of 147.74. That's not all, as Karthik is also having a good time behind the stumps where he is involved in 12 dismissals—six catches and six stumpings.
All-rounder: Andre Russell (10.5 cr)
Third in the list of key players features Kolkata Knight Riders' Andre Russell. The West Indies international is having an outstanding tournament where he is not only the leading run-scorer for KKR with 486 runs at an outstanding average of 69.42, but also has the best strike-rate (207.69) amongst all batsman in the competition who has scored more than 100 runs. That's not it as Russell has also claimed 10 wickets in 10 innings for the franchise.
Bowler: Mohammed Shami (8.5 cr)
Last in the list of key players features Kings XI Punjab's Mohammed Shami. The veteran right-arm pacer is having a good time with the ball in hand where he is the leading wicket-taker for the franchise with 16 scalps in 12 matches at a strike-rate of 18.
Uncapped player: Murugan Ashwin (8 cr)
Predicted Playing XI:
Kings XI Punjab: Lokesh Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran (wicketkeeper), David Miller, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin (captain), Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Murugan Ashwin
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper, captain), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Harry Gurney, Sandeep Warrier, Kuldeep Yadav
