It’s the first time Shreyas Iyer will face his ex-team, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), since switching franchises. Under his leadership, KKR enjoyed a title-winning run last year. But now, he, alongside Ricky Ponting, is busy steering Punjab Kings (PBKS) toward a resurgence unlike any seen before. The cherry on top? Both teams will face each other twice within a week, setting up the perfect opportunity to either make or break their chances in the tournament. Whoever wins this fixture will break into the top four.
Besides KKR, PBKS will also take on RCB twice on the trot this week, giving them just the right opportunity to build some momentum in the middle of the week.
Kolkata have never played in Mullanpur before, but the venue might just play right into their hands. Mullanpur has allowed spinners to weave their magic in the two games played here so far, with an average of 29. KKR’s spin trio would no doubt be licking their lips at what the surface has in store for them.
Team Overview:
Moeen Ali, Varun Chakravarthy, and Sunil Narine plotted Chennai Super Kings (CSK) out of contention on Chennai’s home ground. This is very telling of the lethality the trio holds. Narine has been equally explosive with the bat, giving his side much-needed saving at several instances throughout the tournament. There were some doubts about how Ajinkya Rahane would fare now that he has been given the additional duty of captaining the title-defending side, but so far he has done incredibly, averaging more than 40 across six games. Barring his unbeaten 97-run knock against Rajasthan Royals, Quinton de Kock has not done much to write home about for Kolkata, and the question mark on his form is growing ever so large, especially with Rahmanullah Gurbaz watching from the sidelines.
Shreyas Iyer used as many as eight bowling options in their most recent game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), but it did not pay off well as they could only get two scalps combined. This exposes Punjab’s need to do better in the bowling department. They average the worst with the ball this season, giving away 49.66 runs per wicket. One of the reasons behind their subpar bowling is how their main man, Yuzvendra Chahal, has bowled so far. He only has two wickets in five matches at a very expensive economy rate. Add to that the lack of contribution from the middle order, with Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell woefully out of form since their arrival in India.
Head-to-Head Matches:
KKR have a better record against PBKS, having won 21 out of 33 games and losing only 12 to Punjab.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Mullanpur has hosted two games this season thus far, and both saw at least one team scoring more than 200 runs. Contrary to how the rest of the venues have done, both games were won by teams batting first. So, dew is unlikely to have much say here. There will be plenty available for batters to exploit; however, slow bowlers and spinners would be happy with how the deck will fold out for them.
Prediction:
Both teams have been nearly the same kind of exceptional and woeful, but PBKS might look to sneak past KKR in their home game.
Where to Watch:
India: Star Sports Network, JioHotstar
UK: Sky Sports, SkyGo
USA: Willow TV
Australia: Kayo TV, FoxTel Go
Bangladesh: T Sports, Toffee app
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
Afghanistan: ATN
South Africa: SuperSport
Sri Lanka: Dialog
MENA: Cricbuzz
