The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 53rd game of the IPL 2023 on Monday (May 8), at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Knight Riders are in eighth position with four victories in ten games and must win their last four games to have any hope of making the playoffs.
The Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous game by defending their total of 171 runs and winning by five runs, with Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh contributing key innings. Varun Chakravarthy received the Player of the Match title after defending nine runs in the last over.
The Punjab Kings have won five of their ten games this season and are presently seventh in the points table. In their most recent game, they scored 214 runs in 20 overs against the Mumbai Indians but lost the game. Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma were the team’s main contributors, scoring 119 runs for the fourth wicket.
After losing an early wicket, Mumbai’s middle-order batter enabled them to reach the target with six wickets and seven balls to spare. Arshdeep Singh ended up giving 66 runs in his 3.5 overs, equaling the Kings bowler’s record for most runs surrendered in an innings.
Pitch Report
Three of the four matches played at Eden Gardens this season have been won by teams batting first. Teams batting first have scored more than 200 runs three times this season, while the average first innings total is 211. As a result, the captain who wins the toss will want to bat first to put the opponent under pressure.
KKR vs PBKS Head-to-Head records
KKR and PBKS have met 31 times in the IPL so far. KKR has won 20 matches, while PBKS has won only 11. The Kings have won three of the last five meetings with the Knight Riders, including the season opener. PBKS scored 191 runs for the loss of five wickets and won by seven runs using the DLS system in that game.
Total- 31
Won by KKR- 21
Won by PBKS- 11
Players to watch out for
Liam Livingstone: Livingstone has 157 runs scored in five innings of play this season, with an average of 39.25 and a strike rate of 163.54. He had a brilliant innings of 82* off 42 balls in the last game against MI.
Varun Chakravarthy: Chakravarthy is the leading wicket-taker for KKR this season, with 14 wickets from 10 games. He was named Player of the Match in the previous match against SRH for his match-winning spell of 1/20 in four overs.
