In the 21st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be locking horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday. PBKS registered a phenomenal win over the Mumbai Indians which saw them restrict the likes of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav to a below-par total. KL Rahul then led the chase with a well-timed fifty, with Chris Gayle also finding some form in the middle.
However, the Kings are yet to find a perfect team balance. Nevertheless, PBKS have been decent with the ball in IPL 2021, with Arshdeep Singh being the pick of the lot. Meanwhile, the KKR has lost their last four games of the IPL 2021. Although they began their season with a decent win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Their top-order consisting of Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, and Rahul Tripathi has blown hot and cold, with Eoin Morgan failing to get going with his bat.
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The onus will be on Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik to deliver the goods with the bat. Much is expected from their bowlers as well, with only Varun Chakravarthy impressing for KKR. Although the Knight Riders will be itching to bounce back to winning ways, they will head into the game as underdogs. All in all, a cracking game can be expected by the fans as both the teams are looking to keep their playoff hopes intact as the Ahmedabad leg of IPL 2021 commences this Monday.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Punjab might think of bringing in Jhye Richardson or Riley Meredith for Fabian Allen, although they have been very expensive at the start of this IPL. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh have been doing a good job for the team. Punjab, though, will be wary of the Shami-Russell match-up considering that their lead fast bowler has conceded 77 runs off 27 balls going up against the KKR allrounder.
Probable XI: KL Rahul (c/wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Moises Henriques, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson/Riley Meredith, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
While there may not be too many changes that can be expected in the KKR lineup for this game, Eoin Morgan is big on match-ups and be might bring in Harbhajan Singh, who has dismissed Chris Gayle, 5 times. Meanwhile, he might try to keep Russell off the attack when Gayle is around, given he’s conceded 82 off 46 balls to the Jamaican. Sunil Narine isn’t the best bet against Rahul, with the Punjab captain having scored 82 off 44 off him.
Probable XI: Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Harbhajan Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Mavi
Fantasy Suggestion #1:
Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle (vc), Eoin Morgan, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill (c), Andre Russell, Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Shami, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, and Arshdeep Singh
Fantasy Suggestion #2:
Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle (c), Rahul Tripathi, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell (vc), Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Shami, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, and Ravi Bishnoi
