Get ready for a thrilling cricket match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata on May 8, 2023. The stadium has been revamped since 2016 and is now the fastest scoring ground in the Indian Premier League (IPL), with an average first innings score of more than 211.
KKR’s spinners have shown excellent performance at home, but the team has lost three of their four games played at this stadium this season. On the other hand, PBKS has scored more than 200 runs in each of their previous four matches. With an unreliable weather forecast, the match between these two teams is likely to be affected by the weather. However, the spin-friendly conditions could work in KKR’s favor.
Here are the probable 11 for both teams:
KKR: 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]
PBKS: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh [Impact Player: Nathan Ellis]
As per the weather forecast, the pitch for the match has not been watered as much as the previous tracks, leading to a slightly drier pitch. The curator also expects little dew on the ground.
In their head-to-head matchups, KKR has a slight advantage over PBKS, having won 12 out of 23 matches. In the last five matches between the two teams, PBKS has won two, and KKR has won three.
KKR needs to win this match to keep their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs alive. While their spinners have performed well, the team has not been able to convert their success into victories at home. PBKS, on the other hand, is in good form and has been scoring more than 200 runs consistently.
The pitch is expected to be dry, which could be advantageous for KKR, but the weather forecast is unreliable. With both teams having an equal chance to win, the match promises to be exciting.
