Indian Premier League 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings – 53rd Match Preview and Updates

Cricket

KKR will face PBKS in yet another home game as they attempt to stay in contention for the playoffs. The Kolkata Knight Riders have lost three consecutive games at Eden Gardens.

KKR hasn’t had a good home season, but they’ve recently won a couple of games and will be hoping to carry that momentum to Kolkata. The Punjab Kings’ bowling department is in disarray.

With bowlers like Arshdeep, Rahul Chahar, and Sam Curran, the attack appears to be quite strong. Nonetheless, Punjab’s recent outings have been very expensive, and they have failed to put the opposition under any sort of pressure.

Both teams’ batting looks promising. After KKR went down early against SRH, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh came to their rescue.

Despite inconsistencies, given the amount of talent on this team, KKR can be confident in their batting. Jitesh Sharma of the Punjab Kings is in top form this season. He will be an important player in the middle order and has the potential to deliver a big finish for PBKS.

The 53rd Match between Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings will take place on May 8th, 2023 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Match Details to Note

Match: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings, 53rd Match, Indian Premier League 2023

Date: May 08, 2023 (Monday)

Time: 7:30 PM IST

Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings

Kolkata Knight Riders (Match Odds – 1.92):

Preview:

This is a crucial game for the Knight Riders as the race to finish in the top four tightens. Four teams are tied for 10 points, with KKR ranking eighth with 8 points.

KKR will need to win every game from here on out to stay in the race and have a chance to make the playoffs. Nitish Rana will be pleased with his team’s bowling performance in the previous match.

Vaibhav Arora and Shardul Thakur each took two wickets in defending a 171-run target, while Varun Chakravarthy finished with one for twenty in four overs. Anukul Roy bowled three overs as KKR chose him over Suyash Sharma for the impact role.

After the top order collapsed, it was a good sign for KKR that their middle order stepped up and delivered. Roy and Gurbaz, the big guns, failed to make an impression and returned to the hut early.

If those two can regain their form and find their rhythm at Eden Gardens, KKR could be in for another competitive total. They’ve lost two games while batting second at this venue. That will be on their minds as they take the field against a strong overall team like the Punjab Kings.

Given Punjab’s recent struggles to defend even large totals, KKR may consider batting second in this match.

Full Squad:

Nitish Rana (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N. Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan

Players to watch out for:

Shikhar Dhawan

Despite having an excellent IPL record, the skipper has yet to score more than 30 runs since returning from injury this season. He’ll be eager to contribute in this game.

Liam Livingstone

The English batting all-rounder has improved on his previous score in each game of the tournament, hitting 11 boundaries in the final game.

Arshdeep Singh

The left-arm swing bowler conceded 66 runs but still picked up a wicket against the Mumbai Indians and has yet to go wicketless this season.

Possible Playing XI:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy

Punjab Kings (Match Odds – 1.92):

Preview:

Punjab Kings is yet another inconsistent IPL team. Their form over the last five games has been L W L W L. Two of their last three losses have come at Mohali, where their bowlers have failed spectacularly.

First, against LSG, Punjab surrendered the highest total of this year’s IPL. And, in their most recent home game against MI, brilliant batting performances from Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma helped Punjab post a 214-run batting first total.

Despite this, they were never in command of the game while defending the total and were defeated by 6 wickets. Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh are two of the best left-arm seam bowlers in the game, capable of breaking the game open for Punjab or their national teams.

The failure of these two, as well as the inconsistency of Rahul Chahar, is a major source of concern for Punjab. After delivering with the ball in the previous game, Rishi Dhawan may be given another chance.

Given their recent bowling form, Dhawan would be inclined to bowl first and rely on his batters to chase down any total. Atharva Taide deserves another chance in the top order, especially given the struggles of Prabhsimran and Dhawan to get off to a good start.

Full Squad:

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shahrukh Khan, Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh

Players to watch out for:

Shikhar Dhawan

Despite having an excellent IPL record, the skipper has yet to score more than 30 runs since returning from injury this season. He’ll be eager to contribute in this game.

Liam Livingstone

The English batting all-rounder has improved on his previous score in each game of the tournament, hitting 11 boundaries in the final game.

Arshdeep Singh

The left-arm swing bowler conceded 66 runs but still picked up a wicket against the Mumbai Indians and has yet to go wicketless this season.

Possible Playing XI:

Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings Batsmen Worth Watching

For the Kolkata Knight Riders, we like Rinku Singh, Jason Roy, and Venkatesh Iyer at the plate. Iyer has already hit a century in this year’s tournament and is currently ranked 10th among all batters in run scorers. Roy’s highest T20 score is 145.

Our batting options for Punjab Kings are Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, and Jitesh Sharma. Sharma has a top T20 score of 106 after hitting 49 not out from 27 balls against Mumbai Indians. Dhawan is the second most prolific IPL run scorer of all time, trailing only Virat Kohli.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings Bowlers Worth Watching

Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell, and Shardul Thakur are our picks with the ball for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Thakur finished with 2-23 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, including one opener. Russell took the wicket of Rahul Tripathi in the previous game.

With the ball, we recommend Arshdeep Singh, Sam Curran, and Rishi Dhawan for Punjab Kings. Last Wednesday, Dhawan dismissed Rohit Sharma with the third ball of the innings. The last time these two teams met, Curran took a big wicket of Andre Russell.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings Head to Head

Kolkata Knight Riders have defeated Punjab Kings 20 times in the IPL’s history, though Punjab Kings won the most recent meeting earlier this season.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings Head to Head Stats in IPL

	Matches Played	KKR Won	PBKS Won	Tie	NR
Overall	31	20	11	0	0
Last 5	5	2	3	0	0

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings Toss Prediction

Despite the fact that teams batting first have won three of the four matches at Eden Gardens this season, we believe it will be in both teams’ best interests to chase down a total.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings Pitch Report

The KKR vs PBKS match will take place at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. On this field, the average first-inning score is 164 runs. The square boundaries are shorter, so batters will try to clear them for sixes. A match-winning total would be more than 185-190 if the bowlers also put in a good performance while defending the total.

The Eden Gardens pitch is batting-friendly, with some assistance for spinners. Once established, the batsmen can play their strokes and score big on this pitch. The weather in Kolkata will be mostly sunny, with a high of 39 degrees Celsius.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings Prediction

There isn’t much of a distinction between the two sides. There is no clear winner in this comparison. Both have a lot of problems to deal with. This year, KKR has a poor home record, which counts against them. Punjab’s bowling has been very expensive, making them untrustworthy when it comes to defending a score. If the pitch continues to provide good bounce and carry, it will be another high-scoring game, and we believe KKR will have a slight advantage. Check out the odds at Cricbaba!

Kolkata Knight Riders is the favourite to beat Punjab Kings at the odds of 1.92.