KKR vs PBKS: Weather Forecast And Pitch Report of Dubai International Cricket Stadium- IPL 2021 Match 45

Updated - 01 Oct 2021, 11:39 AM

KL Rahul
Image Source: Twitter

KKR vs PBKS: Weather Forecast And Pitch Report of Dubai International Cricket Stadium- IPL 2021 Match 45. The 45th match of IPL 2021 sees Kolkata Knight Riders take on Punjab Kings at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday. Both teams have played against each other once this season.

Kolkata Knight Riders had restricted Punjab Capitals to 123 runs in that game before chasing it down in 16.4 overs. It was their second win during the first leg of IPL 2021. KKR didn’t win a single game in the India leg thereafter.

Rahul Tripathi and Venkatesh Iyer, KKR
Rahul Tripathi and Venkatesh Iyer. Credits: IPL

However, Kolkata Knight Riders made a significant turnaround in the UAE leg of the competition. In their last four games, they have managed to win on three occasions. As a result of that, they have climbed to the number four position on the table with 5 wins in 11 matches. KKR need to win all their remaining three games from here to secure their playoff berth.

KKR won their last game against Delhi by 3 wickets. On a slow wicket, KKR’s fast bowlers did the right thing to take the pace off and bowled a lot more cutters and slower balls. As a result of that, Delhi Capitals were restricted to just 127 runs in the first innings. Lockie Ferguson, Sunil Narine and Venkatesh Iyer all picked two wickets each during the innings.

Facing them are Punjab Kings, who showed great fight in the last game against MI. Punjab Kings currently are sitting at sixth position, with 4 wins in 11 matches. Every game is a must-win for them from here. Another loss would have them knocked out of the race for playoffs.

Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab (Image Credit: Twitter)

Punjab’s batting had a forgettable day in the last game. Barring Aiden Markram, none of the batsmen delivered for the side. Aiden Markram top-scored for them with 42 off 29. Thanks to his valiant batting effort, PBKL managed to score 135 runs at the end of the first innings.

The bowlers, however, didn’t let MI chase down the score easily. They bowled at the right areas and sent MI’s top three back to the hut inside the first ten overs. The match, however, turned in the second half of the innings.

Sourabh Tiwari (45 off 37), Hardik Pandya (40 off 30) and Kieron Pollard (15 off 7) showed great application and helped the side win the game in 19 overs. Punjab would be hoping to bounce back against KKR on Friday. Given the recent form of KKR, they will go into the encounter as favourites.

KKR vs PBKS: Weather Forecast And Pitch Report of Dubai International Cricket Stadium- IPL 2021 Match 45

KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal
KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal. (Photo: BCCI)

The Pitch at Dubai International Cricket Stadium offers adequate help to both batsmen and bowlers. Of the three pitches, which have been used in IPL 2021, batsmen find Dubai as the ideal one to bat on.

Kolkata are yet to play a game in Dubai this season, while Punjab played one game here against Rajasthan. Rajasthan won that game by 2 runs. Mayank Agarwal scored a half-century in that game, while KL Rahul scored 49.

Average 1st Inns scores 144
Average 2nd Inns scores 122

Dubai is expected to be hot and humid. The conditions here should suggest that there is no possibility of rain. One could expect a good game of cricket. The average temperature will hover around 42-degree Celsius.

 

Tagged:

Andre Russell IPL 2021 KL Rahul Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Lockie Ferguson Mayank Agarwal Mohammed Shami Nathan Ellis Nicholas Pooran Nitish Rana Punjab Kings Punjab Kings (PBKS) Ravi Bishnoi Shubman Gill Sunil Narine Tim Southee