PBKS brace for in-form Kolkata Knight Riders for Friday clash
Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns with Punjab Kings in pursuit to maintain the fourth spot and continue their struggle to secure playoff birth in IPL 2021.
The game will begin at 7:30 pm (IST) at the Dubai International Stadium.
Expected playing XI
PBKS
KL Rahul (C & WK), Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.
KKR
Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (C), Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Tim Southee, Sunil Narine, Sandeep Warrier, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson.
Key performers of the match
KL Rahul
Being the highest run-getter for Punjab Kings, the PBKS skipper will be a potent threat to the Knight Riders. He has been in fine touch in this IPL edition, notching 422 runs in 11 games already.
He averages 52.75 which goes to show how he has been consistently providing a solid platform for the PBKS middle-order to capitalise on. However, their brittle line-up has failed to make it big in most matches.
Despite his lone masterclasses, PBKS have slumped to seven losses in 11 games.
Rahul Tripathi
No one could have predicted before the IPL that Tripathi will become KKR’s backbone in the top-order line-up. His back-to-back fiery knocks have provided bursts of runs in middle overs, something that Eoin Morgan has been struggling to do.
All Tripathi needs to do is bat the way he has been batting throughout the tournament. His partnerships with any of the openers are bound to provide the opposition series of troubles.
The 31-year-old has scored 315 runs in 11 games so far.
Sunil Narine
Narine’s all-round performance speaks volumes of his skills in franchise cricket. He can be a handy spinner for KKR in the middle overs to help restrict the PBKS from scoring boundaries.
If the Dubai track turns out to be a two-paced wicket, Narine can prove to be lethal on Friday. Whether Andre Russell is deemed fit to play or not, Narine deserves to be in KKR’s huddle after his Man of the Match performance in the last outing.
Match prediction
Kolkata have the edge over PBKS. While Morgan may not be in the form of his life, he has led the team brilliantly since coming over to the UAE.
On the other hand, PBKS have undergone the similar troubles in the second leg that they were facing in India. The batting line-up is heavily dependant on Rahul. Chris Gayle, who has left the IPL bubble to focus on the ICC T20 World Cup, failed to turn up in any game.
Nicholas Pooran has hit a form slump as well. This means that their firepower at the death overs is close to none.
Hence, KKR should cruise to victory against the Kings.
