KKR vs PBKS Match Preview- IPL 2024, Match 42

The KKR vs PBKS match at Eden Gardens is the fourth home game for the Kolkata Knight Riders on the trot. So far they have played four games at the Eden Gardens and won three out of them. 

KKR vs PBKS Date and Venue

The KKR vs PBKS IPL 2024 match will be played at the Eden Gardens on April 26, Friday. from 7.30 pm IST. This is the first meeting between the two sides in this year's IPL. 

KKR vs PBKS Match Preview- IPL 2024, Match 42 

Kolkata Knight Riders 

KKR were lucky to win their previous match against RCB by a margin of one run. The Kolkata Knight Riders set RCB have a daunting target of 223. The RCB batters especially the inexperienced batters stood up this time and took them to the brink. Mitchell Starc had to defend 21 off the final over and KKR managed to win the game by just one run. 

While KKR batters have been consistent throughout the season Mitchell Starc, their premier pacer has struggled big time. He has taken just six wickets and has been taken down to the cleaners by batters of all teams.

The KKR management should now think about giving him a break for a few games and giving a chance to Dusmantha Chameera who is more than an able replacement. 

KKR Squad 

Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Jason Roy, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson, Sakib Hussain. 

Punjab Kings 

PBKS are heading into this game after four back-to-back losses. They have been unlucky to lose some games from potentially winning positions. In a few other games, they were completely outplayed. In their previous match against Gujarat Titans, they were able to take the match right down to the last over defending 143. 

PBKS have too many loopholes within the team. As a team, they have yet to give that clinical performance on the field. Searching for a win after four consecutive losses makes things all the more difficult.

They are coming up against a team who have a better head-to-head record against them and their batters have been consistently scoring over 200 with the bat. Their bowling combination also needs a rejig and Shikhar Dhawan must return to their lineup. 

PBKS Squad 

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajann, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw. 

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KKR vs PBKS Key Battles

Sunil Narine vs Kagiao Rabada 

Narine and Phil Salt have been giving KKR quick starts in almost every game. Their aggressive approach in the powerplay is helping KKR to score 50-80 runs inside the powerplay. This is where Kagiso Rabada becomes a key bowler against the likes of Narine and Salt. The West Indian does not like short balls and Rabada can exactly exploit that weakness of his.

Andre Russell vs Kagiso Rabada 

Rabada has dismissed Russell once in the IPL conceding 60 runs off just 27 balls against him, Despite the numbers it is a good match-up as Russell too does not like playing the yorkers and the short ball.

Shikhar Dhawan v Sunil Narine 

Narine is picking up wickets whenever he is bowling for KKR. His main job against Punjab Kings will be to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan as and when he bowls against him. He has dismissed him twice in the IPL.

KKR vs PBKS Key Players

For KKR, Sunil Phil Salt, Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, and Andre Russell will be the key with the bat. Narine and Chakravarthy will be key with the ball along with the young Indian seamers Hardhit Rana and Vaibhav Arora. Starc is unfortunately woefully out of form. 

For PBKS, Shikhar Dhawan is the mainstay with the bat if he plays the game. The likes of Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran too will be key. With the ball, Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada will be key.

KKR vs PBKS Weather and Pitch Report

The weather conditions for the KKR vs PBKS match will be hot and humid in the daytime. In the evening the temperatures will drop down to around 30 degrees. However, the conditions will be sticky and there will be a lot of dew. 

Talking about the Eden track, the venue has always been a high-scoring venue. 223 and 222 were scored by KKR batting first in the last two games and both were nearly chased down. The wicket will stay true and there will be spin on offer. There will be a fair bit of dew on the wicket as well and the outfield as always will be fast. There is no chance of rain. 

Conclusion

PBKS are heading into this game ranked ninth on the points table. KKR on the other hand, is placed second. This is a crucial game for the Knight Riders. A win will help them stay within the top two. 

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