Courtesy: BCCI/IPL
Preview:
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the match 44th of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday, April 26. After losing their last two matches, including one against PBKS in the reverse fixture away from home earlier in the tournament, KKR are in a need to register a win over the same opponent, to keep their hopes alive of defending the league title.
On the other hand, PBKS ended up losing at home in their previous match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), but still, they are in a good spot as far as the league table is concerned. Let’s have a look at fantasy cricket tips, pitch report, probable XIs, captain, vice captain and more ahead of the KKR versus PBKS IPL 2025 44th match.
KKR vs PBKS Match Details
|
Match Number |
44 |
|
Teams |
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS) |
|
Venue |
Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
|
Time |
7:30 PM (IST) |
| On-Field Umpire | Adrian Holdstock, Adrian Holdstock |
| Third Umpire | Akshay Totre |
KKR vs PBKS Head-to-Head Stats & Records
KKR have had the upper hand over PBKS in their overall battle in IPL history, but the last two matches between them in the league have belonged firmly to the latter. After defeating Kolkata by chasing down the highest-ever total in T20 history last year, in the reverse fixture earlier in the IPL 2025 season, Punjab managed to successfully defend the lowest-ever total in league’s history.
| Kolkata Knight Riders |
vs |
Punjab Kings |
|
34 |
Matches Played |
34 |
|
21 |
Won |
13 |
|
261 |
Highest Score |
262 |
|
0 |
No Result |
0 |
|
79 |
Lowest Score |
111 |
| 19 | Tosses Won | 15 |
| 4 | Elected To Bat | 7 |
| 15 | Elected To Field | 8 |
| 161.85 | Average Runs | 161.06 |
| 5.41 | Average Wkts | 6.35 |
KKR vs PBKS Pitch Report
The pitches at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata have been quite good for batting in the IPL 2025 with a little bit of assistance at times for the pacers and spinners alike. With KKR batters not taking full advantage of the conditions, and the bowlers not being at their best regularly enough, the franchise have found themselves in some trouble in their title defence. Over the years, teams batting first have won 41 times, while teams batting second have won 56 times in the IPL matches played at this venue. The average first innings total here in the league is 164.
Records and Stats at Eden Gardens, Kolkata
| Total Matches played | 97 |
| Matches won batting first | 41 |
| Matches won batting second | 56 |
| Matches with no result | 0 |
| Matches Tied | 0 |
| Average First Innings Score | 164 |
KKR vs PBKS Probable Playing XIs
KKR Probable Playing11: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Moeen Ali, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy
Impact Player: Ramandeep Singh
PBKS Probable Playing11: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett
Impact Player: Yuzvendra Chahal
KKR vs PBKS IPL 2025 Full Squads
KKR: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya
KKR's Last Five Matches: Performance
| Win | Loss | Win | Loss | Loss |
PBKS: Shreyas Iyer (c), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis (wk), Vishnu Vinod (wk), Harnoor Singh, Pyla Avinash, Marcus Stoinis, Musheer Khan, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shegde, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Kuldeep Sen, Xavier Bartlett
PBKS's Last Five Matches: Performance
| Win | Loss | Win | Win | Win |
Top Captaincy and Vice-Captaincy Picks For KKR vs PBKS, Match 44, IPL 2025
Q. Why are Sunil Narine and Shreyas Iyer good choices for captaincy picks?
Sunil Narine has been quite decent with the bat and ball in the IPL 2025 despite coming nowhere close to his lofty standards of the past with KKR.
Sunil Narine IPL 2025 Stats
|
Matches |
Wickets |
Eco. |
S/R |
| 7 | 7 | 7.60 | 21.43 |
Sunil Narine IPL Career Stats
|
Matches |
Wickets |
Eco. |
S/R |
| 184 | 187 | 6.76 | 22.60 |
Shreyas Iyer is the best batter of PBKS in the ongoing IPL, and his presence at the crease will dictate whether his current team will get the better of his previous team in the league.
Shreyas Iyer IPL 2025 Stats
|
Matches |
Runs |
Avg. |
S/R |
| 8 | 263 | 43.83 | 185.21 |
Shreyas Iyer IPL Career Stats
|
Matches |
Runs |
Avg. |
S/R |
| 124 | 3390 | 32.91 | 130.64 |
Q. Why are Ajinkya Rahane and Yuzvendra Chahal good choices for vice-captaincy picks?
Ajinkya Rahane has been the in-form batter for KKR in the IPL 2025, but the rest of the batters haven’t been able to compliment him.
Ajinkya Rahane IPL 2025 Stats
|
Matches |
Runs |
Avg. |
S/R |
| 8 | 271 | 38.71 | 146.49 |
Ajinkya Rahane IPL 2025 Stats
|
Matches |
Runs |
Avg. |
S/R |
| 193 | 4913 | 30.52 | 124.51 |
Yuzvendra Chahal has regained his form in the IPL after playing a major role in the win for PBKS against KKR at home, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Yuzvendra Chahal IPL 2025 Stats
|
Matches |
Wickets |
Eco. |
S/R |
| 8 | 9 | 9.31 | 17.33 |
Yuzvendra Chahal IPL Career Stats
|
Matches |
Wickets |
Eco. |
S/R |
| 168 | 214 | 7.90 | 17.18 |
KKR vs PBKS, IPL 2025 Match 44: Top Players to pick
Angkrish Raghuvanshi: Angkrish Raghuvanshi has played a few good innings for KKR in the IPL 2025, but the team management haven’t figured out the best possible slot for him in the batting lineup.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi IPL 2025 Stats
|
Matches |
Runs |
Avg. |
S/R |
| 7 | 197 | 39.40 | 149.24 |
Angkrish Raghuvanshi IPL Career Stats
|
Matches |
Runs |
Avg. |
S/R |
| 17 | 360 | 30.00 | 151.90 |
Harshit Rana: Harshit Rana has been amongst the wickets for KKR in the recent matches of the IPL, and he will look to keep his form going in the remainder of the season.
Harshit Rana IPL 2025 Stats
|
Matches |
Wickets |
Eco. |
S/R |
| 8 | 11 | 9.19 | 15.19 |
Harshit Rana IPL Career Stats
|
Matches |
Wickets |
Eco. |
S/R |
| 29 | 36 | 9.09 | 15.19 |
Prabhsimran Singh: Prabhsimran Singh has been providing flying starts consistently for PBKS in the IPL 2025, and he has managed to get a couple of big scores under his belt too.
Prabhsimran Singh IPL 2025 Stats
|
Matches |
Runs |
Avg. |
S/R |
| 8 | 209 | 26.13 | 168.55 |
Prabhsimran Singh IPL Career Stats
|
Matches |
Runs |
Avg. |
S/R |
| 42 | 965 | 22.98 | 150.55 |
Marco Jansen: Marco Jansen has picked up a few crucial wickets in the recent matches for PBKS in the league, while his contributions with the bat in the lower order have come in handy as well.
Marco Jansen IPL 2025 Stats
|
Matches |
Wickets |
Eco. |
S/R |
| 8 | 68 | 9.24 | 20.38 |
Marco Jansen IPL Career Stats
|
Matches |
Wickets |
Eco. |
S/R |
| 29 | 28 | 9.46 | 20.38 |
KKR vs PBKS, IPL 2025 Match 44: Players to avoid
Ramandeep Singh: Ramandeep Singh has batted for KKR at number eight on most occasions, not being able to put together an innings of substance in IPL 2025.
Harpreet Brar: Harpreet Brar isn’t the most preferred bowler for PBKS in the IPL this season, finding himself in the playing XI after one of the pacers wasn’t doing well for them.
KKR vs PBKS Match 44 Fantasy Team 1
Wicketkeeper: Prabhsimran Singh
Batters: Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ajinkya Rahane, Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer
All-Rounders: Sunil Narine, Marco Jansen
Bowlers: Harshit Rana, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
KKR vs PBKS Match 44 Fantasy Team 2
Wicketkeeper: Prabhsimran Singh
Batters: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ajinkya Rahane, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer (VC)
All-Rounders: Sunil Narine (C), Andre Russell, Marco Jansen
Bowlers: Harshit Rana, Yuzvendra Chahal, Xavier Bartlett
Disclaimer: The fantasy tips and facts expressed within this article are the author's personal opinions. They do not reflect the views of SportsTiger. It is not a reflection of the actual points you might earn. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
