🏏IPL 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings, 53rd Match 🏏

“A good captain must be a fighter; confident but not arrogant, firm but not obstinate; able to take criticism without letting it unduly disturb him.”

Sir Donald Bradman

🏏IPL 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings, 53rd Match 🏏

Tag & Logo Credit: Sevenstreaks

Kolkata Knight Riders will be taking on the Punjab Kings in the 53rd match of the TATA IPL 2023 at the iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata tonight.

Both teams have played 10 games so far.

Punjab Kings have won 5 of their 10 matches and are placed seventh on the points table. They have 10 points to their tally and a net run rate of -0.472.

On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders have won 4 of their 10 games this season so far, and are placed eighth on the points table.

They have 8 points to their tally and a net run rate of -0.103.

These two teams have played 31 matches against each other so far, where Kolkata Knight Riders won 20 matches while Punjab Kings won 11 games.

KKR have lost three of their four home games this season. The last three have been on the bounce.

Their losses at home have come despite the success of the spinners, their conventional power muscle that's held up again and been the most successful this season. But unlike other years, it hasn't quite translated into victories at home.

Jason Roy and Vaibhav Arora came into the side for KKR's last game and are likely to keep their place in conditions they should enjoy plying their trade in. David Wiese had a long net session a day out from the match, but who he can replace in the side is anybody's guess.

There will be pressure on Sunil Narine to deliver, though, the spinner returning a lone wicket in his last seven matches.

After Kagiso Rabada's 2 for 52 against Lucknow Super Giants, PBKS seem to keep him for slower tracks. That trend is likely to continue at the Eden Gardens too.

KKR and PBKS have faced each other 31 times in IPL so far. KKR have emerged victorious in 20 matches, whereas PBKS have won only 11. The Kings have won three of the last five encounters with the Knight Riders, including the first game of this season. In that game, PBKS scored 191 runs for the loss of five wickets and won by seven runs via the DLS method.

Another great contest is anticipated here between these two teams today.

Thanks for the tag and thread, Madz!❤️

KKR vs PBKS IPL 2023 Match 53 Pitch Report:

Eden Gardens’ surface is known for its batting-friendly pitch and has consistently produced high-scoring games. The stadium is quite small, which allows the batters to take risks.

Although it is primarily beneficial to batters during the early stages of the game, it also benefits bowlers, particularly spinners, later in the game. Eden Gardens is a medium-sized stadium with a boundary size of 65 to 67 meters on the square and 69 to 71 meters on the straight side from the crease.

Average 1st innings score:

The average first-innings score on this wicket is 180 runs.

Record of chasing teams:

The team batting second has great records here. They have maintained a winning percentage of 60 on this ground.

Probable playing 11

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan©, Prabhsimran Singh, Matthew Short, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(wk), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana©, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Anukul Roy

Andre Russell is a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler from Kolkata Knight Riders. He smashed 35 runs in the last game against Punjab Kings.

Shikhar Dhawan is a left-handed batsman from Punjab Kings. He hammered 40 runs in the last match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Nitish Rana is a left-handed batsman from Kolkata Knight Riders. He smacked 25 runs in the last game against Punjab Kings.

Arshdeep Singh is a left-handed batsman and left-arm medium fast bowler from Punjab Kings. He picked up 3 wickets in the last match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

This is a Batting pitch, a total of 12 matches have been played on this pitch, in which the team bowling first has won 7 matches and the team batting first has won 5 matches. The average score on this pitch is 155. Bowling first after winning the toss would be the right decision.

Weather in Kolkata, IN is Clear. The temperature is expected to be around 33°C on the match day with 57% humidity and 13 km/h wind speed. And the Visiblity is 4 KM. There are no chances of precipitation during the game.

Eden Gardens Score Records:

Total matches:12

Batting first won:5 (41%)

Bowling first won:7 (58%)

1st inn avg score:155

2nd inn avg score:137

Highest Total:201/5

Lowest Total:70/10

Highest Chased:162/4

Lowest Defended:186/5

Punjab Kings (PBKS) Team Updates

• Prabhsimran Singh and Shikhar Dhawan will probably open the inning.
• Matthew Short will bat at the one-down position.
• Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma will handle the middle-order batting.
• Shikhar Dhawan will lead the Punjab Kings as a Captain. He is also a good Batsman
• Prabhsimran Singh will do the Wicket Keeping for Punjab Kings.
• Liam Livingstone and Matthew Short will take care of the spin bowling of his team.
• Arshdeep Singh will lead the pace attack of his team.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KOL) Team Updates

• Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Jason Roy will probably open the inning.
• Venkatesh Iyer will bat at the one-down position.
• Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh will handle the middle-order batting.
• Rinku Singh is having topmost fantasy points in this series.
• Nitish Rana will lead the KOL as a Captain. He is also a good Batsman
• Rahmanullah Gurbaz will do the Wicket Keeping for KOL.
• Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine will take care of the spin bowling of his team.
• Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora will lead the pace attack of his team.

A Looking by the pitch behavior, picking top-order batters, would be crucial here.

Death-over bowlers are always excellent wicket-takers in fantasy, they can turn the game around at any time.

In Wicket Keeping, both are good. However, Rahmanullah Gurbaz will be the better option.

Batters may play a major role on this pitch.

Jason Roy and Vaibhav Arora came into the side for KKR's last game and are likely to keep their place in conditions they should enjoy plying their trade in. David Wiese had a long net session a day out from the match, but who he can replace in the side is anybody's guess. There will be pressure on Sunil Narine to deliver though, the spinner returning a lone wicket in his last seven matches.

Right-arm legspin has accounted for Andre Russell four times this season and Rahul Chahar makes up an ideal matchup for him. The legspinner is yet to get Russell in IPL but has managed to keep him quiet so far, bowling 27 balls to him for only 34 runs.

im not home again today...please tag me with the batting lineup! I will try to check it from phone!🤗

Did you know?

- Andre Russell is three wickets away from 400 wickets in T20s.

- Dhawan is striking at 149 this season - his highest ever in an IPL season.

- In KKR's previous game against SRH, Varun became the first spinner in IPL to successfully defend less than ten runs in the final over.

What they said:

"I know him from Vidarbha days... It feels nice to see him grow so well as a batter and as a finisher, because he has batted at No. 5, 6 even 7 and whatever the team has demanded he has produced results against quality bowlers and teams. I feel he's almost ready to play for the Indian team" - PBKS batting coach Wasim Jaffer on Jitesh Sharma

"Yes, we have to win every match, but we are taking one game at a time. We won the last match and we are confident now. The atmosphere of the dressing room is good, as Rinku showed earlier that we can do good from any position and can win from difficult positions" - Vaibhav Arora on KKR's chances