Eden Gardens, Kolkata. (Photo Source: BCCI)
Second-placed Kolkata Knight Riders will host ninth-placed Punjab Kings in what will be their third consecutive home game. This is the only match scheduled between these two teams in IPL 2024.
Both of these teams’ most recent match was on the same day of a doubleheader where KKR beat RCB in a day game and PBKS lost to GT in the night game.
KKR were bolstered by inspiring batting shows from Phil Salt, Shreyas Iyer and Ramandeep Singh to post 222/6. RCB in response went hard at the total and even were ahead of the humungous required run rate before Andre Russell removed both of RCB’s half centurions Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar in the same over. The rest of RCB’s batters never picked up the slack until Karn Sharma hit three sixes off Mitchell Starc in the last over of the chase but it didn’t prove enough as RCB fell short by just one run.
Moments after this game ended, PBKS capitulated very hard against GT, and if not for a brave show with the bat from Prabhsimran Singh and Harpreet Brar, they might not have even reached the 142 they were eventually dismissed. PBKS put up an inspired show with the ball as well, but could not prevent GT from chasing their very low total in the last over after Rahul Tewatia had to dig GT out of a hole.
KKR vs PBKS promises to provide a high entertainment factor, especially with Kolkata’s track record.
Eden Gardens Pitch Report:
Eden Gardens has produced some of the flattest surfaces it ever has in the IPL. In the last two matches held here, RCB fell short by just one run while chasing 223, while RR equalled their own record for the highest total successfully chased in IPL history. While questions could be raised on KKR’s bowling, these phenomena mostly boil down to the very flat nature of the surface.
IPL Stats and Records at Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Out of 90, only 37 matches have been won batting first here, there haven’t been any results, and the average first-innings total is 161.
90
Matches Won Batting First
37
Matches Won Batting Second
53
Matches Won Winning Toss
48
Matches Won Losing Toss
42
Matches With No Result
0
Highest Team Total
235/4
Lowest Team Total
49
Average First Innings Total
161
Highest Total Successfully Chased
223
KKR vs PBKS Strategies & Match-ups:
Kolkata will almost certainly provide a flat track where the batter will make merry and by the looks of it, even 220 might not be a safe total. Any team that is batting second should back themselves to chase down anything that is in front of them, especially a team like PBKS which hosts a better and in-form bowling attack as compared to fellow table bottomers RCB who still managed to almost chase 222 down.
The important matchups for this match are: Sunil Narine vs Arshdeep Singh, Shashank Singh vs Andre Russell, Ashutosh Sharma vs Andre Russell, Kagiso Rabada vs Phil Salt, and Harshal Patel vs Shreyas Iyer.
Player Battles to Watch Out For:
Andre Russell vs Harshal Patel:
In four innings, Andre Russell has scored 35 runs against Patel at a strike rate of 134.61 while being dismissed twice at an average of 17.5. This track record will be important to stop Russell at the death and Punjab Kings will be hoping Patel can keep as quiet as he has so far.
Sam Curran vs Sunil Narine:
While Curran has never bowled to Narine in the IPL, he has managed to keep the battle in his favour with the bat. So far, Curran has scored 39 runs at a strike rate of 169.56 against the Trinidadian. In conjunction with the high strike rate, Curran has only gotten out to Narine once in 23 balls. Curran will hope that he can use this history to his advantage especially if he can survive the initial fast bowling spells.
X-Factors for KKR vs PBKS:
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Andre Russell was the single most important bowler in halting what at one point looked like a very easy chase for RCB. His services will be required to halt PBKS’ dangerous lower middle order especially when defending whatever seemingly high total KKR put up.
Punjab Kings:
While he could not get going in the last match, Shashank Singh still remains the most consistent and important batter in the PBKS lineup. His partnership with Ashutosh Sharma has saved many a blush and this service will once again be required by the Punjab Kings.