Pratidin Bureau
KKR, having won 5 out of 7 matches, are at number 2 on the points table at the moment. On the other hand Punjab have won 2 of their 8 matches and are sitting at number 9 on the points table.
Kolkata and Punjab have played 32 IPL matches against each other so far. Shah Rukh Khan’s KKR have won 21 and Preity Zinta’s PBKS 11
KKR Batsmen: Shreyas Iyer for his consistent leadership and batting, Sunil Narine for his explosive batting and bowling skills.
KKR Bowlers: Mitchell Starc for his pace and wicket-taking abilities, Varun Chakaravarthy for his mystery spin variations.
PBKS Batsmen: Shikhar Dhawan for his experience and opening solidity, Liam Livingstone for his big-hitting prowess
PBKS Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh for his express pace, Rahul Chahar for his leg-spin skills.
The pitch at the Eden Gardens is good for batting because it's flat. There is consistent bounce as well. Fast bowlers might get some help from the bounce early on. As the game progresses, spinners will become more effective due to the turn and bounce in the pitch.
Kolkata is in the middle of an excessive heat wave and an Orange Alert is presently active in the city. In the evening, the temperature in Kolkata will be around 29 degrees. However, the real feel will be 35 degrees. The humidity will be around 78 per cent. There is no chance of rain.
As per Google’s win probability, there is a 59 per cent chance that Kolkata will beat PBKS in their eighth match.