Punjab Kings will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the 21st match of IPL 2021 on Monday. Both sides were on a similar track before they had faced their last game. Punjab Kings got back to winning track after beating Mumbai Indians by 9 wickets in their last game.
However, KKR’s dismal run in the tournament continued as they lost to Rajasthan Royals by 6 wickets in their last game. Punjab have moved to the fifth position on the points table, while Kolkata Knight Riders are languishing at the bottom.
KL Rahul played one gem of a knock in the last game against MI, helping Punjab get across the line. Chris Gayle too made a significant contribution and didn’t let Punjab suffer a collapse. The duo will once again be vital in the next game against KKR. Mayank Agarwal has been guilty of throwing away the starts he is getting in the tournament.
It is important that he plays a big knock on Monday. Apart from Fabien Allen, the bowlers bowled well for Punjab too. The inclusion of Ravi Bishnoi has done wonders for Punjab. After leaking a lot of runs against Delhi, Mohammed Shami has made a storming comeback. He has bowled brilliantly in the last two games and has been amongst the wickets. For your fantasy team, KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Shami and Ravi Bishnoi are some of the mandatory picks to have.
Kolkata Knight Riders have a lot of things to rectify before they step on to the field on Monday. The openers in Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana have to get the team to a good start or they might end up scoring another low score. Nitish Rana is a key player for KKR. He started off brilliantly for the side but hasn’t scored much in the last few games.
Expect him to score a good knock against Kings on Monday. The onus will be on the likes of Andre Russell, Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik. The trio is yet to come to the party and if they don’t get runs in the coming games, KKR might become the first team to get out of contention for the playoffs. Given the bigger dimensions of the ground, we want you to pick slow medium pacers in the side and big hitters who could clear the fence with ease. We are backing Eoin Morgan to come good against Punjab Kings.
In PBKS vs KKR match prediction, let’s look into some important stats from teams and the players from both sides:
PBKS Playing XI (likely):
KL Rahul (c&wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Jhye Richardson, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami
KKR Playing XI (likely):
Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Ben Cutting/Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna, Pat Cummins and Shivam Mavi
Form Guide:
PBKS: LLLLW
KKR: WLLLW
Standings on IPL points table:
PBKS: 5
KKR: 8
Both sides look good on paper but KKR haven’t performed to their potential at the moment. Eoin Morgan is yet to make a valuable contribution for the side, while Andre Russell too hasn’t set the world on fire. Given the recent form of both sides, Punjab Kings might get the better off KKR on Monday.
Today IPL Match Score:
The team batting first is likely to score anything between 160 and 180.
Where to watch IPL Live Score and Stream:
The matches will be telecasted live on Star Sports Network. And, it will be streamed live on Hotstar and Jio TV
Today IPL Pitch Report
The swing will be on offer in the early part of the innings. However, due to the bigger dimensions of the ground, one could see a lot of cutters being bowled in the match. C
Although the pitch is a touch on the slower side, there is ample swing on offer to keep the bowlers interested. Change of pace will be key for the fast bowlers.