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.
ALSO READ: “Nice for us to get over the line” – Aiden Markram
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.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Jason Roy and Vaibhav Arora played in the last game for KKR and they will be expected to keep their places. David Wiese had a long net session a day out from the match, but who he can replace in the side is anybody’s guess. There will be pressure on Sunil Narine to deliver though. Right-arm legspinners have dismissed Andre Russell four times this season and Rahul Chahar makes up an ideal matchup for him. Chahar is yet to get Russell in IPL but has managed to keep him quiet so far, bowling 27 balls to him for only 34 runs.
Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy [Impact Player: Suyash Sharma/Anukul Roy]
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
After Kagiso Rabada’s 2 for 52 against Lucknow Super Giants, PBKS seem to keep him for slower tracks. He played in Chennai but at a high-scoring venue in Wankhede, Nathan Ellis was preferred and something similar will happen at the Eden Gardens too. Arshdeep Singh would be looking to do much of the same to Venkatesh Iyer and if that doesn’t become fruitful, there’s also the pace of Nathan Ellis/Kagiso Rabada to trouble him. Iyer’s strike rate against right-arm fast drops down to 123.
Probable XI: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Fantasy XI Suggestion 1:
Jitesh Sharma, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shikhar Dhawan, Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell (vc), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran (c), Mathew Short, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
Fantasy XI Suggestion 2:
Jitesh Sharma, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shikhar Dhawan (vc), Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell (c), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis
