IPL 2023: KKR vs PBKS, Match 53: Pitch Report, Probable XI and Match Prediction

Table of Contents

Pitch report
Probable XIs
Head-to-head record
Match Prediction

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will battle against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 53rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on Monday (May 8). Notably, KKR and PBKS have faced each other once in the IPL 2023, where Punjab emerged victorious by seven runs in a rain-affected game.

As far as the previous matches of the two teams are concerned, KKR defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their last game, whereas PBKS lost to Mumbai Indians (MI). Rinku Singh top-scored for the Kolkata-based team in their match against SRH, scoring a quickfire 46 off 35 balls. Among bowlers, Varun Chakravarthy put up a sensational show and played a significant part in KKR’s win by defending eight runs off the last over. Meanwhile, despite Liam Livingstone storming 82, Punjab were handed over a six-wicket defeat by MI. Although Nathan Ellis bagged two scalps for his side, he failed to defend the total and eventually ended up on the losing side.

KKR are placed on the eighth place of the IPL 2023 points table and will aim to move up when the face Punjab on Monday. On the other hand, Punjab are on the seventh position and will look to break into the top five.

Pitch report:

The track at Eden Gardens has a history of favouring the batters. However, the spinners can also come into play as the game progresses. Overall, a high-scoring match is expected to take place at the venue.

Probable XIs:

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

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