Kolkata are riding high after victories over RCB and SRH in their last two games. They lost a close game against PBKS earlier in the season, but they are certain they can win this one at home.
Head-to-head record, KKR v PBKS
The head-to-head record favours Kolkata, which has won 20 of the 31 previous meetings. KKR has won 8 of the 11 games versus Punjab Kings at Eden Gardens. They did, however, lose a close game to PBKS earlier this year in Mohali.
Toss prediction
The conditions at Eden Gardens will favour the chasing team, and the team that wins the toss will most likely choose to bowl first.
Win Probability
Punjab Kings may be out of form, but given their formidable bowling attack, they will be confident in pushing KKR in these conditions. They have a 55% chance of winning.
Average score
The average score in night T20 matches at Eden Gardens is around 170. To feel safe, the team establishing a total can strive to score more than 200.
Pitch and conditions
The pitch here is excellent for batting in general, but especially so in night games. Pacers will get some early help, but the better batting side will come out on top.
Players to keep an eye on…
KKR Predicted playing XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
PBKS Predicted playing XI:
Atharva Taide, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh
Andre Russell: Russell is back in form, and all indicators point to his having a big night in one of the upcoming games. Russell should thrive given PBKS’s lack of quality in the bowling attack.
Shikhar Dhawan: On a strong batting strip, Dhawan can be anticipated to help Punjab Kings get off to a good start and regain form this season. Read Also: Sandeep Sharma Throws a No-Ball in the Last Over, RR Loses the Match Against SRH
IPL 2023, Match 53 predictions
We predict that Punjab Kings will win the match based on all of the above considerations.
