KKR vs PBKS ( Source : IPL )
Kolkata Knight Riders, currently in second place, will be hosting Punjab Kings, who are in ninth place, in their third consecutive home game. This is the only match scheduled between these two teams in IPL 2024.
In their most recent matches, which took place on double header day, the Knight Riders defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the evening game, while the 2014 runner-ups succumbed to Gujarat Titans in the night game.
Kolkata Knight Riders, buoyed by impressive batting performances from Phil Salt, Shreyas Iyer, and Ramandeep Singh, put up a total of 222/6. Royal Challengers Bengaluru initially kept up with the required run rate, but Andre Russell’s exceptional bowling removed both of their half centurions, Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar, in the same over. The rest of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s batters failed to pick up the pace, and although Karn Sharma hit three sixes off Mitchell Starc in the last over, it wasn’t enough as they fell short by just one run.
Shortly after that match ended, Sam Curran & Co. struggled against the Titans, and if it weren’t for Prabhsimran Singh and Harpreet Brar’s brave batting, they may not have even reached the final score of 142. Punjab Kings also showed determination with their bowling, but Shubman Gill’s men managed to chase down the low total in the last over, thanks to Rahul Tewatia’s efforts.
The last two matches at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata saw RCB get within touching distance of 222 while chasing, and Rajasthan Royals actually chased down 224, the joint-highest in the cash-rich league’s history. Keeping this in mind, KKR vs PBKS promises to deliver a high entertainment quotient.
With that said, let’s look at the approaching milestones of players ahead of Match 42:
34 – KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer needs another 34 runs to complete 3000 runs in the IPL.
67 – Liam Livingstone needs 67 runs to reach the milestone of 1000 runs in the tournament.
1 – Shikhar Dhawan needs to take just one more catch and have a total of 100 catches in the league.
13 – Nitish Rana needs 13 more runs to get to the landmark of 4500 runs in T20 cricket.
1 – Manish Pandey needs just one catch to complete the feat of 150 catches in the 20-over format.