The buildup to the playoffs has been a great ride and the teams which are going to battle out are having a different tale with respect to the journey they have been having in the current edition of IPL. Kolkata Knight Riders suddenly look like the team to reckon after some changes made in the playing XI and Punjab Kings have been having a see-saw battle with their matches. The winner of this match will stand an opportunity to battle it out for the 4th spot with the top three almost confirmed.
Kolkata Knight Riders:- With them currently being placed at 4th in the points table, they would have to win 2 out of their remaining 3 games for sure-shot playoffs qualifications and for that to happen, their first step would be to win and take advantage against the struggling PBKS team and carry the momentum for the upcoming matches in tournament. Batting unit of KKR has been very impressive and performed well till now in the second phase of the IPL, bowling has been clicking decently in the second leg. The only things they would be worrying is about the form of their captain Eoin Morgan who hasn’t contributed much and is a player to forget in the middle order. Sunil Narine, after the T20 WC snub, has been performing decently and also tightened the screws against CSK two matches back by picking two wickets in the ultimate over. Venkatesh Iyer also rolled his arms and took two wickets against DC and also is in red hot form with the bat. Lockie Ferguson is a doubtful starter for the game and either of Shakib/Cutting may replace him or an Indian pacer may come in place of him.
Punjab Kings:- The story of Punjab Kings in the last few editions have been worrying with some matches being lost by a very closer margin and those defeats really hurt the unit as a whole and also cause a void in their playoffs qualifications. With Gayle now opting out of IPL due to personal reasons, Punjab Kings would bring back Mayank Agarwal who sat out in the last match to fill the spot of Gayle or Mandeep Singh would be pushed to No.3. Markram, the new recruit to the team has been doing his best part with the bat and also with his electric fielding. Fabian Allen also would stand a chance to fill the spot of Gayle and he not bowling in this second leg is a puzzle still pondering over the heads of cricket fanatics. The bowling unit is sizzling with Arshdeep Singh, Mohd Shami and Ravi Bishnoi bamboozling the opponents. Nathan Ellis, even though not taking much wickets is creating pressure by not leaking runs and keeping the run flow in check.
Venue and Time:- Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai at 19:30 IST on 01 October, 2021.
Live Streaming:- Star Sports Network and Disney Hotstar VIP and Premium Account will be streaming Match 45 of VIVO IPL between RR and SRH.
Expected Playing 11:-
KKR:- Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan / Ben Cutting, Prasidh Krishna / Sandeep Warrier, Varun Chakravarthy, Tim Southee.
PBKS:- KL Rahul (C & WK), Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi.
Stats:-
- Head to Head Record overall:- KKR(19) – PBKS (9).
- Head to Head in last 5 matches: KKR (4) – PBKS (1).
- Andre Russell scored most runs for KKR against PBKS (261).
- In the last encounter these two sides met, Eoin Morgan was adjudged the Man of the Match for his knock of 47*(40).
- Sunil Narine for KKR has taken most wickets (30) against PBKS.
- Best bowling figures by Sunil Narine (5/19) against Punjab.
Pitch Report:-
The pitch is hard and there is a bit of grass on it. The conditions will be hot like typical Dubai weather. The pitch is expected to be a good sporting surface and 160-170 scores can be expected on this pitch. Dew factor wouldn't play a huge role as there will be no or minimal dew.
Predictions:-
KKR are firm favourites to win this match as they look a better side on paper as well as on field performances compared to PBKS. Toss will play a key role in deciding the result of this match, the team which wins the toss is expected to bat first as batting first has been relatively easier compared to batting second on this pitch in past matches.
Dream 11 Fantasy Team:-
