Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns against Kings XI Punjab on Monday at Sharjah. KKR will be eyeing to go ahead of KXIP with a victory in this match. Kolkata Knight Riders have collected 12 points in 11 matches. This match will be really important for both sides. If Kolkata Knight Riders have been able to win the match against KXIP, they will be four points ahead of Kings XI Punjab. After a big win against Delhi Capitals, KKR will be confident to get another victory against KXIP on Monday.
KXIP has won four consecutive matches to solidify their chances to go into the playoffs this season. If they can win this match against Kolkata Knight Riders, they will be in an advantageous position in the league table. Kings XI Punjab are having a better net run rate and they will go to the top four positions in the league table.
Pitch Report:
The match will be played at Sharjah. In the previous match, Kolkata Knight Riders’ top order has struggled against the pace bowling of Royal Challengers Bangalore. So, there will certainly be something for the fast bowlers in the first few overs of the match. So, the toss winning captain will like to chase down the score in this match considering the size of the boundary.
Head To Head Record:
Total Matches Played: 26
Kolkata Knight Riders Won: 18
Kings XI Punjab Won: 8
Predicted Starting XI; Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Kings XI Punjab:
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy.
Kings XI Punjab:
KL Rahul (Captain, wk), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Murugan Ashwin.
Key Players:
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Sunil Narine
Pat Cummins
Kings XI Punjab:
KL Rahul
Nicholas Pooran
Captain And Vice Captain Selection:
Captain Choices: Sunil Narine, KL Rahul
Vice-Captain Choices: Pat Cummins, Nitish Rana, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle
Probable Winner: Kings XI Punjab
Sunil Narine has come back in the starting lineup of Kolkata Knight Riders in the match against Delhi Capitals. He has played a brilliant inning against Delhi Capitals on Saturday. His presence in the middle order has certainly made a huge impact for Kolkata Knight Riders in the match against Delhi Capitals. Pat Cummins has bowled so well in the power play. Varun Chakravarthy has taken five wickets with the best bowling figure of this season’s Indian Premier League. The star all-rounder, Andre Russell will probably not be fit for the match against KXIP. So, Kolkata Knight Riders might play with an unchanged XI in the match against Kings XI Punjab.
On the other hand, Mayank Agarwal might come back in the side against Kolkata Knight Riders. However, that could be a last-minute thing due to his injury. Due to the problem, he was forced to miss the previous match. The explosive batters of KXIP will certainly give them an edge over their opponents considering the short boundary size of the ground.
