Today's contest is certainly an important one for both the teams to bag another win and move a step forward towards qualifiers. Both Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Kings Eleven Punjab (KXIP) will eye a win to bolster their chances of making it to the playoffs.
The Kolkata Unit currently has 12 points from 11 matches, while the under-pressure KXIP has 10 points from the same number of games. The 4th-placed KKR need two more wins to get to the magical figure of 16 points and ensure a play-off berth, Kings Eleven Punjab needs to win all three games and also hope their opponent KKR, third-placed RCB and SRH falter in their last three matches at the business end of the tournament.
As far as the Punjab Brigade is concerned, the unit has put up a commendable show so far with their star openers showing consistent performance. Though the team has defeated in-form teams like Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Eoin Morgan & Co have an edge over Punjab after they pulled off a thrilling two-run win in the previous match with KXIP.
Crickets fans this evening are keen to see some magic from Chris Jordan and Arshdeep Singh who have shined this season. KL Rahul and Chris Gayle are also expected to put up a decent performance for the fans. KKR's mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy is also being expected to once again show his confidence and strangle the opponents with his attack.
KKR PLAYING XI: Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (w), Eoin Morgan (c), Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy
KXIP PLAYING XI: KL Rahul (w/c), Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh