Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
On Saturday, April 26, the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are hosting the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a reverse fixture at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in match number 44 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. However, both teams are coming into this game on the back of contrasting results, the Ajinkya Rahane-led side will hope to avenge their previous defeat, when they went down by 16 runs in Mullanpur.
As the two skippers walked out for the toss, it was the PBKS skipper, Shreyas Iyer, who came out on top and elected to bat first. While Shreyas Iyer have consistently picked batting after winning the toss, it was visible on Saturday as well. “We are batting first. Since we are playing on the same wicket they played on. Can see a few cracks, will get an idea on how its playing. It's always been great to play in front of this crowd. Another day to come here and embrace,” Iyer said.
Marcus Stoinis and Harpreet Brar miss out from PBKS XI vs KKR
When asked of the team combination in the upcoming match, Iyer also confirmed two changes, hoping to give chances to a few other players. Speaking at the toss, Iyer added, “We have been getting brilliant starts. We are talking about a few situations, need to play to our best ability and believe in ourselves. I want the bowlers to take wickets, it changes the momentum. The more wickets we take in the powerplay, gives a chance to the other bowlers. Maxwell and Omarzai come in.”
On the other hand, KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane also called for a few changes in their playing XI as Rovman Powell was handed his debut cap, who comes in place of Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya comes in for Ramandeep Singh.
KKR vs PBKS IPL 2025 Playing XI
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
Impact Subs: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Anrich Nortje, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy
Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer(c), Josh Inglis(w), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact Subs: Harpreet Brar, Musheer Khan, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey
