Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue: 161
Win percentage while batting first: 41.30%
Pitch Conditions:
- Going by the recent results, it can be said that chasing or batting second at Dubai has been an easier task for teams playing their Indian T20 2021 matches in Dubai. The last two games have been won by teams batting second — both by a similar margin of 7 wickets — and that is something which will weigh heavily on the call that the respective captains of KKR and PBKS make at the toss.
- With 67.39% of the wickets coming their way, fast bowlers are expected to dominate in the Match No 45 of the Indian T20 2021 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The spin bowlers have 32.61% of wickets coming their way.
Weather prediction:
It will be a bright and clear day in Dubai on Friday with temperature hitting a high of 37°C during the noon time and dropping down to 33°C around the match hours. The players from KKR and PBKS, however, will experience a high humidity rate of 65-70% during the match hours.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD:
Matches played: 28
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won: 19
Punjab Kings (PBKS) won: 9
No result: –
Last 5 matches:
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won: 4
Punjab Kings (PBKS) won: 1
No result: –
Top 3 players from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine
Top 3 players from Punjab Kings (PBKS): KL Rahul, Ravi Bishnoi, Aiden Markram
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana
Top 5 players from Punjab Kings (PBKS): KL Rahul, Ravi Bishnoi, Aiden Markram, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami
Q&A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
It is a contest between two teams that are both fallible and can still surprise the opponents bowling attacks by playing aggressive cricket. KL Rahul has been in imperious form for Punjab Kings and his presence at the middle crease keeps the opposition bowling attack on their toes. On the other hand, some of the KKR batsmen such as Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi and even Shubman Gill to certain extent have been in-form and the contest on Friday night promises to be an enticing one given that both the teams are yet to attain their peak. For this match, it will be advisable to add more to the batting strength since there are plenty of bowlers in KKR and PBKS camp who can throw up stunning surprises.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
Kolkata Knight Riders have been on a roll, having defeated the likes of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in their recent matches. Even against Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders were absolutely terrific for the large part of the contest, coming close to win the game on them in the final over. On the other hand, while there is no dearth of talent in the Punjab Kings ranks, they are yet to provide fireworks together which has been their shortcoming. The fourth-placed KKR are certain leaders from the side in this contest and should have more players featuring in the fantasy cricket XI.
MORE INFORMATION: Punjab Kings will want more from their batsmen after a few disappointing games with the bat. Rahul carries a lot of responsibility on his shoulders already and it won’t be at the benefit of the player as well as the franchise to have him burdened by the pressure of scoring as well as leading the side on a persistent basis. The lack of runs from the likes of Chris Gayle, Nicolas Pooran and even Deepak Hooda has not worked in the favour of Punjab Kings, for whom South Africa’s Aiden Markram has played two significant innings in as many matches. For Kolkata Knight Riders, it will be imperative to continue with their good show and improvise and keep on improvising as they go.
Players’ form: There are plenty of batsmen from both Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders who are in form and promise this game to be an exciting one to watch. Iyer, Gill, Tripathi, Rana and Andre Russell are the batsmen to watch out for from the KKR camp, whereas after a couple of quiet games with the bat, Rahul will be desperate to get back among big scores and punish the bowlers once again. With the ball, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh form a very potent and promising fast bowling attack for Punjab Kings, which can be said is the same for KKR with New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson and India’s M Prasidh Krishna sharing the responsibility. The return of form for the veteran Sunil Narine is also a great advantage for the KKR camp.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Sandeep Warrier.
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (c&wk), Chris Gayle, Aiden Markram, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Harpreet Brar, Ravi Bishnoi, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami.
FANTASY XI: KL Rahul (c&wk), Venkatesh Iyer (vc), Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Shami.
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Kolkata Knight Riders aim to maintain domination against Punjab Kings
Kolkata Knight Riders will look to maintain their domination over Punjab Kings and consolidate their standing in the Indian Premier League (Indian T20) 2021 points table, when the two teams clash on Friday night at Dubai International Cricket Stadium for the tournament’s Match No 45.
Kolkata Knight Riders have been able to successfully revive their campaign which looked derailed halfway through Indian T20 2021, on the back of some impressive victories in the second leg which is being played in the UAE. KKR have beaten the likes of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians while they ran Chennai Super Kings close, losing only on the final delivery of the match. But KKR did well to recover from that demoralising defeat to hand Delhi Capitals a 3-wicket defeat in their previous match.
KKR are sitting pretty at the fourth position in the Indian T20 2021 points table with 10 points and 11 matches, having won 5 games and lost 6. One of the biggest advantages is that KKR have a support positive Net Run Rate of 0.363 (NRR), which is better than the other competitors in Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals and certainly, Sunrisers Hyderabad.
KKR have an absolutely dominating record against Punjab Kings, having won 19 matches out of the 28 the two teams have played so far. Even in their last five head-to-head matches, Kolkata Knight Riders have 4 victories to their name and that is something which the Eoin Morgan-led side will want to maintain.
Iyer has been a revelation for KKR this season as the left-handed opening batsman can also chipped in with crucial wickets, whereas the others in Rana, Tripathi and Russell have done well in their parts to contribute to the team’s success.
However, their captain Morgan’s embarrassing form with the bat should be a major concern for the KKR side, with the Irish-born England cricketer averaging a poor 11.88 with the bat this Indian T20.
One of the biggest gains for Kolkata Knight Riders in recent matches has been the form of their West Indies veteran player Narine, who seems to be returning to the form both with the ball and the bat just at the right time for the two-time title winners KKR.
As a team, the Knight Riders have won 3 out of the last 4 matches and their current form indicates that there are warning signs for Punjab Kings.
With 3 defeats in their last 4 matches, Punjab Kings have their backs firmly pressed against the wall. Despite their captain Rahul being at the top of his performance, Punjab Kings are struggling at the 6th spot in the Indian T20 2021 points table with only 4 wins in 11 matches giving them 8 points, and a negative NRR of -0.288.
It is not that Punjab Kings do not have enough firepower or variety of players who can deliver, but this is the case of not being able to put up a unified performance both with the bat and the ball to clinch victories. In their previous match against Mumbai Indians, the young India leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi set up a perfect platform for the others to capitalise after he got rid of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, but PBKS bowlers did not have enough in them.
With the bat, there hasn’t been much to talk about apart from the form that Rahul has been in. The India wicketkeeper-batsman has crossed 400-run mark in the Indian T20 this year and he will remain there biggest batting hope in the matches to come.
