Match Details
Date: May 8, 2023
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
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Preview
At the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the hosts KKR will take on PBKS in the match 53 of the Indian Premier League 2023. Kolkata Knight Riders will be playing this fixture on the back of a very important win against SRH in Hyderabad. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings lost their previous encounter at home against Mumbai Indians as they failed to defend a total in excess of 210. Both Knight Riders and Kings haven’t had the best of IPL so far this season, that’s why a win in their upcoming game is necessary for either of the teams to stay in contention for the playoffs.
Pitch Report
In this year’s IPL, the Eden Gardens has been a paradise for the batters. The average first innings score at this venue in the tournament has gone up to 211, way ahead of 163 across all seasons. So, you can expect the upcoming match between KKR and PBKS to produce a first innings score in excess of 200.
Team Analysis
Kolkata Knight Riders
The trio of captain Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, and Rinku Singh have been the top three prolific run scorers for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2023. Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz have contributed with a few good innings at various stages of the tournament for KKR, but it hasn’t been enough for the team to be on the winning side in most of the matches. In the bowling department, Varun Chakaravarthy has been a massive positive for Knight Riders, but the lack of meaningful contributions from other bowlers has been a worry for the team management.
SportsTiger Playing XI of KKR
Jason Roy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy (Potential Impact Substitute - Anukul Roy for Venkatesh Iyer)
Punjab Kings
The captain Shikhar Dhawan has been providing good starts to PBKS at the top of the order once again, after sitting out for three matches due to a shoulder injury. A big innings from Liam Livingstone, coupled with runs by Jitesh Sharma against MI, ensured that Punjab Kings got their second 200+ total in two matches. Arshdeep Sharma and Nathan Ellis have been picking the bulk of the wickets for the Kings in this year’s IPL, but lack of support from other bowlers in the team has been a bit of a let down.
SportsTiger Playing XI of PBKS
Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matt Short, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh (Potential Impact Substitute - Rishi Dhawan for Prabhsimran Singh)
Match Prediction
Conclusion
Kolkata Knight Riders haven’t been in the best of forms in IPL 2023, but they have a very dangerous batting lineup which can put any team to the sword. So, Punjab Kings have to be wary of the threat posed by their opponents and find a way to defeat them in the process at the Eden Gardens.
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