Kolkata Knight Riders take on Punjab Kings at the 42nd match of the Indian Premier League 2024 today at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. KKR is at the second position with 10 points from 7 games, whereas PBKS is at the second last position with 4 points from 8 games.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
All the Top 8 KKR batsman have been in form in this tournament. Salt and Narine have given fiery starts, which have been continued by Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who has been batting at no.3. Though Venkatesh Iyer averages only 17.8, he has striked at 150+. Shreyas Iyer have mostly played the anchor roles holding the middle order together. Rinku Singh, though he has not been in form like last year, has scored at an average of 26.75 and strike rate of 159.7. Andre Russell have been destructive as usual, while Ramandeep Singh have played cameos here and there striking at an impressive rate of 182.93.
In the bowling department, the Indian pacers Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora have been decent, and so has been Varun Chakravarthy. Sunil Narine has been superb with the ball, and Andre Russell has chipped in with the wickets. But their biggest letdown has been Mitchell Starc, who was bought for a record 24.75 crores. His bowling average has been 47.83 and economy rate even worser - 11.48.
EXPECTED LINE UP OF 12 : Phil Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc/Dushmantha Chameera, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma.
PUNJAB KINGS
If it can be said that all the KKR batsman have been in form, it is fair to say that all the PBKS batsman, barring the young Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma has been out of form. Sam Curran, Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide, Jonny Bairstow, Rilee Rossouw - all average below 20. Liam Livingstone has fared somewhat better but is yet to hit a half century in this tournament. Also, he has been striking at just above 145, and PBKS would like him to be more destructive. Shikhar Dhawan missed last few matches due to injury and PBKS will be eager to see him back to provide the much needed stability at the top order. Though Shikhar Dhawan have been decent with the bat, he needs to increase his strike rate given the current demand of the tournament. Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma have bailed them out on most ocassions, winning matches for them and sometimes taking them close to the winning line. Harpreet Brar too have played some good knocks lower down the order.
The bowling however has been lot better for them. The pace quartet of Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel have been pretty good picking up wickets, though at times giving away runs at the death. Harpreet Brar has been pretty economical, while Liam Livingstone too have been decent with the ball.
EXPECTED LINE UP OF 12 : Shikhar Dhawan (c), Rilee Rossouw, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine has been arguably the best batter and bowler for KKR. With the bat he has scored, 286 runs at an average of 40.86 and strike rate of 176.54. With the ball, he has picked 9 wickets at an average of 22.11 and economy rate of 7.11.
Andre Russell
Another West Indian Andre Russell too have been in form with both the bat and ball, amassing 155 runs at an average of 51.67 and strike rate of 184.52 and picking up 9 wickets at an average of 14.89.
Shashank Singh
There had been some controversy regarding Shashank Singh at the auction, but the PBKS won't be regretting buying him at the auction. The right hander has scored 195 runs at an average of 48.75 and strike rate of 168.1.
Ashutosh Sharma
Ashutosh Sharma has been superb with the bat scoring 159 runs at an average of 39.75 and strike rate of 189.29. He and Shashank have snatched or almost snatched victory from the jaws of defeat quite a few times in this tournament.
PITCH AND WEATHER REPORT
Teams batting first at Eden Gardens this season have been averaging just below 204 runs. The pitches have been conducive to smooth ball-striking, and the shorter boundaries have favored the batsmen. This trend is likely to continue, although the pitches might begin to dry out due to the ongoing heat wave in the city.
INTERESTING STATS AND FACTS
Harshal Patel has taken 13 wickets this season. He tops the list of wicket taker along with Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Andre Russell has the best bowling strike rate this season (8.89).
Sunil Narine has taken 33 wickets against PBKS, the most he has taken against any team in IPL.
MATCH DETAILS
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Live broadcast: Star Network
Live streaming: JioCinema App
DREAM 11
