Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik. Credit: BCCI

Match 52 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) will see two close friends from Tamil Nadu – Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik go up against each other in the PCA IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on May 3 (Friday). Both the teams are on 10 points from 12 games and a win from here can pave their way to the playoff stages.

However, Kolkata Knight Riders will curse themselves for the position they are currently in. They made a stunning start to the IPL and then lost the form midway. They lost six matches at a stretch making their chances of qualification tough. The team need to come out as a unit and shrug away their over-dependence on Andre Russell to emerge victorious against Kings XI Punjab who have done a good job at Mohali. Also, the dip in form for Kuldeep Yadav has hurt the team’s chances badly as they look to other bowlers to fill his gap.

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IPL 2019: Match 52, Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Weather Forecast
IPL

On the other hand, Punjab finds themselves a spot below Kolkata Knight Riders over the net run-rate. They won the three games from the first four and looked all good. However, their inconsistent and giving away easy games have the reason for their dismal run. Ravichandran Ashwin has changed their XI in all the games which have been their only constant. They will look to put their best feet forward and stop another Russell show to give themselves a chance of qualification.

Meanwhile, only win will not help their cause as they need massive victories to topple Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians who are one step closer to the qualification.

Date and Venue: May 3 (Friday) at 8:00 PM IST, PCA IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali

Weather Forecast

The temperatures will be on the higher side; however, will gradually go down once the game progresses. It will hover around 34 degrees Celsius leading to the game and will go down to 27 degrees Celsius by the end of the game. The are no chances of rain at all much the excitement for both the teams. The winning team will have a clearcut advantage of making it to the playoffs.

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Although there are no chances of rain, there will be heavy cloud cover during the game time. Also, there will be wind blowing over the stadium and humidity will also be relatively low not taking too much out of the players. Although Cyclone Fani has affected most parts of India mostly on the eastern part, it will have no impact on this game.

Meanwhile, the ground staffs will have to be on their toes as it can come pouring down at any point given that it rained in Mohali yesterday. Reduced temperatures and the actual rain itself would have juiced the wicket a bit more, which will support pace and bounce, should the grass be not trimmed on match day.

Here are some more details

IPL 2019: Match 52, Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Weather Forecast
Accuweather

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