Kolkata Knight Riders play Punjab Kings in match 21 of IPL 2021 in Ahmedabad later tonight. The IPL 2021 caravan after Chennai and Mumbai now moves further west. KKR have lost their next four games after winning their campaign opener. Punjab Kings, on the other end, have finished their Mumbai leg with a win. Both the teams are placed at the bottom half of the table which is why the contest becomes a crucial one. More about match 21 Preview in detail below.
KKR have been way too inconsistent in their performances ever since their first win. Their bowlers conceded 200 plus runs in back to back games against RCB and CSK and their batters have failed to utilise opportunities when they have presented themselves. KKR’s performnace have been inconsistent to say the least and they need a win big time to keep themselves alive in the season.
Punjab Kings, too like KKR have been inconsistent. However, their win in their last game against Mumbai Indians has brought some relief to the team. The bowling attack of Punjab Kings has been way too wayward which is why they have accounted for so many runs. It is the batting lineup of Kings which is better placed after the last win against Mumbai. It is the Punjab batting lineup that keeps them ahead in the contest.
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Head To Head: Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Matches Played: 27
KKR Won: 18
PBKS Won: 9
Pitch & Weather Conditions
Scores in between 180 to 200 are expected to be posted batting first. While scores in between 180 and above have been defended a highest of 224 has been set as well in international cricket With this being the first match at this venue and both teams having a number of big hitters a high-scoring contest is expected to be on the cards.
Team News: Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Keeping matchups in mind, Eoin Morgan might be willing to bring back Harbhajan Singh in the line-up. He has dismissed Chris Gayle five times and KL Rahul thrice. Meanwhile, Punjab might strengthen their pace attack for a face-off against Andre Russell. Where Russell bats for KKR in tonight’s game will be another interesting observation. He batted as low as seventh in KKR’s last game against Rajasthan Royals.
Squads
Punjab Kings
KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Moises Henriques, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Murugan Ashwin, Mandeep Singh, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Jalaj Saxena, Sarfaraz Khan, Saurabh Kumar, Jhye Richardson, Ishan Porel, Riley Meredith, Utkarsh Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar
Kolkata Knight Riders
Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Cutting, Karun Nair, Pawan Negi, Harbhajan Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sheldon Jackson, Sandeep Warrier, Tim Seifert, Lockie Ferguson, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Vaibhav Arora