Kolkata Knight Riders will go head to head against Punjab Kings in the 8th match of IPL 2022 on Friday. Kolkata Knight Riders were ordinary with the bat in the last game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, as a result, they lost the match by 3 wickets in the final over of the match. Bowlers have done a splendid job in both the matches and need more appreciation for their efforts. Shreyas Iyer used his bowlers quite well and it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure in the coming matches.
Punjab Kings, on the other hand, were mind-blowing in their opening encounter against the Royal Challengers Bangalore as they wrapped up a 5-wicket win with an over still left in the match. Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith’s powerful hitting, in the end, won the game for them. There is no doubt they have got depth in their batting and need to focus more on their bowling. Let’s read more about PKBS vs KKR, Indian Premier League, Dream 11 Fantasy Tips, Playing 11, Pitch & Weather Report.
Match Details
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Date &Time: April 1st at 7:30 PM IST and local time
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar
Pitch Report
Traditionally, this venue hasn’t been a very high-scoring one because of the long boundaries. A fair amount of grass on the pitch won’t help the spinners much. It also looks hard, so it should be good to bat on with good carry. The par score would be around 165. The trend has been to chase here and the previous match saw more than 200 being chased.
PKBS vs KKR: Dream 11 Team
PKBS vs KKR: Important Players
Top Picks – Batters
Ajinkya Rahane, who did everything right in the winning cause against the Chennai Super Kings, wasn’t able to carry forward the same form against Royal Challengers Bangalore. In the 2 matches in this tournament, he has added 53 runs at a strike rate of 120.45.
Mayank Agarwal provided a solid foundation against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and scored a 24-ball 32. He was timing the ball really well and was dismissed in the 8th over.
Top Picks – All-Rounders
Andre Russell is an asset for whichever team he plays. He can bat anywhere in the order according to the team’s needs and can even bowl overs in crucial moments.
Odean Smith was expensive with the ball against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and made it up for that with a match-winning innings of unbeaten 25* runs from 8 balls which included one four and three sixes. He is a powerful stroke-maker and no ground is big for him.
Top Picks – Bowlers
Tim Southee brought the Knight Riders back in the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore by picking up two wickets in the 18th over. However, it wasn’t enough to win the game for his side. He returned with figures of 3 for 20 in his full quota of 4 overs.
Rahul Chahar held things tight and didn’t go for plenty of runs against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He picked up a wicket at an economy of 5.5.
PKBS vs KKR: Probable Playing XI
PKBS: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (wk), Liam Livingstone, Raj Bawa, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Sharma
KKR: Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer(c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Sheldon Jackson(w), Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy
Our Prediction: Who will win?
KKR may win the match and is expected to fight back.
