Around 40 matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 have been played so far in the ongoing tournament and still, we don't know who are the top 4 teams which will be qualifying for the playoffs of the IPL 2024 as 3 teams have got 8 points on the board and 2 teams have got 10 points on the table whereas 3 teams have got 6, 4 and 2 points respectively. The 16th edition of the IPL is one of the best seasons so far where we are unable to know which is the one team that could qualify for playoffs as most of them have the same number of points on the table and are fighting hard to make a comeback and reach into the major round of the playoffs. 

Tomorrow, we are going to witness another nail-biting encounter between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings at Eden Gardens in match number 42 of the Indian Premier League. This game will be a must-win game for the Punjab-based franchise after getting defeated by 3 wickets against Gujarat Giants in the final over of the innings.

Punjab Kings are one of the teams in the tournament that have lost the game in the final overs of the innings against several teams in the ongoing tournament. After Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhwan's injury, they are unable to find a win in their last 4 games. However, their two-star batters, Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh, are the top performers from their team and in many games they have played sensational knocks for their team but were unable to take their team beyond the line.

Whereas Kolkata Knight Riders are in top-notch form in the tournament, where in the last match they won the match by 1 run against Royal Challengers Bangalore by defending a total of 222 runs in 20 overs.

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Key Factors

Pitch Condition

This much-anticipated game will be played at Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, which is a batting pitch that offers some assistance to fast bowlers and spinners later. However, batsmen find it easy to hit boundaries as the ball comes good on the bat having small boundaries.

In the last IPL game here between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore, the home team won the game on the final ball of the innings when 2 off required off 1 ball. More than 440 runs were scored in this game, which includes 23 monster sixes all over the ground.

Form and Fitness

Talking about the current form of both the teams Punjab Kings are unable to find a win in their last 4 games where their top order are unable to score runs in the absence of opener Shikar Dhawan, who has suffered a niggle in the initial stage of the tournament. The team is facing a collapse in wickets while starting the innings. Only Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharam have been the top scorers from this side.

In the bowling department, Punjab need to make some serious changes as their bowlers are unable to pick a wicket in the initial over of the innings

Whereas Kolkata Knight Riders are in 2nd position after playing 7 games so far in the tournament they have won 5 matches having 10 points on the table. Kolkata top order batsmen have been in phenomenal form in the tournament where England star batter Philip Salt produced a match-winning knock against Lucknow Super Giants and the former West Indies all-rounder Narine scored a hundred against Rajasthan Royals, which ended up in a losing cause.

The only point of concern for Kolkata Knight Riders is apart from their spinners, their fast bowlers are unable to pick wickets despite the presence of Mitchell Starc, the Kolkata-based franchise is leaking a lot of runs.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings head-to-head records

Kolkata and Punjab have played 32 IPL games against each other, where KKR have won 21 games and Kings have won 11 matches. 

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings weather

The city of Jot is going through a heat wave and an Orange Alert is declared in the city. However, In the evening, the temperature will be around 29 degrees. Whereas the humidity will be around 78 percent and there will be no chance of rain.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings

Who could be the Top Run scorer?

Kolkata Knight Riders Top Batter

Shreyas Iyer, Philip Salt and Venkatesh Iyer could be the top run scorer for the Kolkata team in this game.

Punjab Kings Top Batter

Sam Curran, Rilee Russow and Shashank Singh could be the top batter in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders as it’s a must-win game for this side. We can see the senior and experienced players taking the responsibility to take their team forward in the tournament.

Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted Playing XI:

Phil Salt (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Mitchell Starc, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Angkrish Raghuvanshi

Impact Player: Suyash Sharma

Punjab Kings Predicted Playing XI:

Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Rilee Rossouw, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Shashank Singh.

Impact Player: Harpreet Singh

Who will win the game between Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings?

As it’s a do-or-die game for the Punjab-based franchise we can see them defeating Kolkata Knight Riders in this game by performing in all three departments.