Match prediction for Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings Match 44 in Kolkata.
Match no. 44 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will witness Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hosting Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 26. The Knight Riders will be desperate to settle the score when the two teams meet at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The match is set to begin at 7:30 PM IST.
Check out our analysis for the KKR vs PBKS match with the top betting tips and predictions.
Here are some of the best bets for this Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings IPL 2025 match.
Shreyas Iyer has had three low scores in the last three games but has been in good form overall. He has scored 263 runs in eight innings at an average of 44 and strike rate of 185. Shreyas has smashed three half centuries in the tournament.
Punjab Kings have Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya at the top of the order. The pair has been in decent form with the bat. PBKS openers have scored 30 runs for the first wicket on average while the number reads just 19 for KKR.
Varun Chakravarthy has picked up 10 wickets in eight games this tournament at an exceptional economy of 6.48. The mystery spinner took 2 for 21 in four overs the last time these two teams faced.
The pitches in Eden Gardens have generally been good for batting in recent years. That trend has continued this season as well, with multiple high-scoring games. The average first innings score at this venue this season reads 202.
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Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings have faced each other 34 times over the years. KKR have won 21 of those whereas PBKS have been victorious 13 times. As for the last five encounters, Punjab Kings lead the scoreline by 3-2.
The Knight Riders have had a poor campaign so far, sitting in the bottom half of the table with just three wins and five defeats. In the most recent fixture, they lost to Gujarat Titans by 39 runs. Their bowlers could not get timely breakthroughs as Titans posted 198 in 20 overs.
Chasing a big target, KKR didn’t get the start they needed, with both openers back in the hut inside the powerplay. Ajinkya Rahane scored a fifty but they had fallen behind the rate.
KKR made a couple of changes in the previous game, bringing in Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Moeen Ali. They should replace Moeen with Anrich Nortje for this game.
Possible XII: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy.
Punjab Kings are just outside the top four, having won five matches and lost thrice. They are coming off a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Batting first, Prabhsimran Singh struck 33 off 17 to get them off to 62 runs in the powerplay. But they were reduced to 114-6 and the lower order batters could not provide a strong finish either.
With only 157 runs on the board, bowlers couldn’t make much impact as RCB chased down the total with ease.
Possible XII: Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Check out the details of where to watch the Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings IPL 2025 match.
Teams have preferred chasing at the venue in the night matches. Dew can play some role in the second innings, making it hard for bowlers. You can expect the toss-winner to field first.
Take a look at the weather forecast, key matchup and favourites to get a better idea of the match.
The weather forecast suggests it will be mostly clear and breezy in Kolkata on Saturday evening. Rain should not be a threat with only 4% cloud cover. The humidity is expected to be high, at around 86% while the wind gusts travel at up to 39 kmph. As for the temperature, it is likely to range between 26 to 29 degrees Celsius.
As per the betting markets, Punjab Kings will be favourites ahead of this match. They have a 54% chance of winning.
Ajinkya Rahane has turned out to be the best KKR batter this season. He doesn’t have a great record against Yuzvendra Chahal. Rahane has managed only 62 runs in 52 balls, with the leg-spinner having the last laugh five times.
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