Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be locking horns with each other in the 53rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday, May 8. KKR must be high on confidence ahead of this game as they are coming on the back of a close win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) away from home. Skipper Nitish Rana will be hoping his team to continue the winning momentum and make a stronger case for themselves to reach the playoffs.
In the reverse fixture, KKR suffered a loss against Punjab in the previous fixture earlier this season and will be keen to take another two points against PBKS. On the other hand, Punjab Kings have ten points at the halfway mark and are currently placed 7th on the points table. Their batting looks formidable with both top order and middle order in great form, followed by an all-round bowling unit.
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Skipper Shikhar Dhawan will be hoping his team to get back to winning ways after suffering a loss against Mumbai and register a win against Kolkata, especially after their last win at home against them. KKR has locked horns with PBKS in 31 games in which, KKR has pulled off 20 victories while Punjab has won just 11 games.
Here are the 3 possible matchups:
#1 Rahul Chahar vs Nitish Rana
In the middle overs, Nitish Rana, who bats in the middle order, will probably be facing Rahul Chahar. In three IPL games, the leg-spinner has dismissed Rana twice in IPL history. In the IPL, Rana has struggled against leggies, as he has managed to maintain a strike rate of just 119.03. Despite only striking out two left-handed batters in six innings this season, Chahar’s economy rate is 6.36.
#2 Varun Chakaravarthy vs Liam Livingstone
The KKR would prefer to keep Liam Livingstone quiet after his match-winning knock of 82* in his previous game. It can be expected that Varun Chakravarthy will be troubling the English dasher as he’s been outstanding this year. Chakaravarthy has taken eight wickets this year in overs in middle overs (ER: 7.82). In IPL 2023, Livingstone is scoring at a rate of 163.54.
#3 Arshdeep Singh vs Andre Russell
Arshdeep Singh has established himself as a dependable bowler for PBKS over the past few years. But it would be difficult to tackle Andre Russell in that phase. In the six balls he has faced against Arshdeep, the KKR star has scored 16 runs. He’s been dismissed justonce by the left-arm pacer. In the final five overs of the IPL, Russell’s strike rate was 193.08.
