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Match Details
Date: 1 April 2022
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Ball-by-ball commentary: SportsTiger App
Preview
In the eighth game of the season, Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will face each other at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Punjab defeated RCB by five wickets in the 3rd match of IPL 2022 to start their season with a bang. Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by 3 wickets in a low-scoring thriller on Tuesday evening.
Pitch Report
This is set to be the third game of the season at the Wankhede. Dew has played a vital part in the games so far with batting becoming easier as the game progresses. For pacers, there will be some help early while the spinners may get to play a role in the second innings with the pitch slowing down a bit.
Team analysis
Punjab Kings:
Odean Smith's 25 from 8 balls helped Punjab Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 5 wickets in their first match of the season. While RCB had posted 205/2 in their quota of 20 overs, valuable contributions from Shikhar Dhawan (43 from 29), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (43 from 22) and Mayank Agarwal (32 from 24) kept Punjab in the game before Smith's finishing touch.
With Mayank Agarwal at the helm, Punjab Kings have assembled a strong team this year. While Agarwal and Dhawan played well against RCB, Jonny Bairstow is also available and he will further strengthen Punjab's batting. Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, and Harpreet Brar form a strong lower order while Liam Livingstone can be destructive on his day. PBKS also have some great bowling options with Kagiso Rabada now available.
SportsTiger Playing XI of PBKS:
Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (Captain), Bhanuka Rajapaksa/Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Raj Bawa, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Kolkata Knight Riders lost to RCB by 3 wickets in a low-scoring thriller at the DY Patil Stadium on Tuesday. Wanindu Hasaranga (4/20) dismantled the KKR batting lineup as KKR were bundled out for 128. Veteran all-rounder Andre Russell top-scored for KKR as he smashed 25 runs off 18 balls. In Bangalore's run chase, Tim Southee (3/20) and Umesh Yadav (2/16) bowled well but couldn't stop their team from losing.
KKR are likely to continue with the same team combination. KKR bowlers have performed well but their batters need to step up as they failed miserably against RCB. Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer need to play better if KKR are to challenge a strong-looking Punjab.
SportsTiger Playing XI of KKR
Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine, Sam Billings, Sheldon Jackson, Andre Russell, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.
Match Prediction:
Conclusion
Power-packed Punjab look the strong favourites to win this match due to their strong batting lineup. But KKR are perfectly capable of pulling an upset if their star players can bring their A-game to the park.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.