Carving for a place in the playoffs, the Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab are all set to face-off for the second time in this season in the 52nd match which will be played at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
Both teams still have a chance to make it to the playoffs despite their current position on the points table. After playing 12 matches each, both KKR and KXIP have won 5 and lost 7 and their current position is sixth and seventh respectively.
This match can be termed as an eventual knockout as curtains will roll down for the team who will lose here. A big win over Mumbai Indians in their last game kept Kolkata Knight Riders’s hopes alive as they finally managed a win after losing six on the trot.
On the other hand, Kings XI Punjab’s swinging pendulum of wins and losses is not in any mood to end, as they have now lost three games on the bounce. A loss here will end their campaign for the season which they definitely don’t want to happen. They do have a tough road ahead as their next two opponents are KKR and CSK and it would be interesting to see whether they will perish or evolve from this pressure situation.
03rd May 2019, 8:00 PM IST
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Total Matches Played: 24
KKR: 16
KXIP: 8
KKR (218-4, 20 overs) defeated KXIP (190-4, 20 overs) by 28 runs, Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Green turf is always expected at the PCA Stadium in Mohali and the hardness of the wickets offers good carry through to the wicket-keeper. The seamers are expected to get some variable bounce from the surface, whereas, the batsmen will find it easy to score runs as the ball will come onto the bat nicely.
Kolkata Knight Riders – Dinesh Karthik(C), Chris Lynn, Carlos Brathwaite, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, Rinku Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Yarra Prithvi Raj, Nikhil Naik, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Sandeep Warrier, Shrikant Mundhe, KC Cariappa.
Kings XI Punjab – Ravichandran Ashwin (C), Karun Nair, Mohammad Shami, Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh, David Miller, Hardus Viljoen, KL Rahul, Ankit Rajpoot, Chris Gayle, Sarfraz Khan, Darshan Nalkande, Moises Henriques, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Agnivesh Ayachi, Sam Curran, Varun Chakravarthi, PrabhSimran Singh, Nicolas Pooran, Harpreet Brar, Murugan Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Arshdeep Singh.
Kolkata Knight Riders – Piyush Chawla, Chris Lynn, Sandeep Warrier, Robin Uthappa, Sunil Narine, Harry Gurney, Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Dinesh Karthik, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh
Kings XI Punjab – KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, David Miller/Sam Curran, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep/Karun Nair/Sarfaraz Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Murugan Ashwin.
Kings XI Punjab:
Players like KL Rahul who is the leading the batting charts for KXIP will be the key. He has scored 3 half-centuries against KKR in his last 4 innings with a highest score of 66.
In the bowling department, skipper Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohd Shami will hold the key.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
For KKR, Andre Russell has been delivering goods with both bat and ball, Dinesh Karthik also made his presence felt in the game against Rajasthan Royals. In the bowling department, Piyush Chawla has been a consistent force.
Dinesh Karthik
Nitish Rana
Shubman Gill
Mayank Agarwal
Lokesh Rahul (VC)
Sunil Narine
Andre Russell (C)
Ravichandran Ashwin
Piyush Chawla
Harry Gurney
Mohammad Shami