IPL 2022: KKR vs PBKS Preview – Kolkata aim for a revival against mighty Punjab
The Kolkata Knight Riders will be locking horns with the Punjab Kings in the eighth match of IPL 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 1. Both teams will be heading into this contest on the back of contrasting results. KKR suffered a three-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last match while PBKS started their campaign on a high with an emphatic five-wicket victory in a high-scoring contest against RCB.
An upbeat Punjab would be eyeing back-to-back wins under their belt and they have a dream batting lineup to boast of with the likes of skipper Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, etc. firing all cylinders in the season opener.
The Kolkata batters might have been off-colour against RCB but it is their bowling that came to the fore as they made the Bangalore batters work hard for their runs in a match that almost went down to the wire. Senior pacer Umesh Yadav has been consistent in the last couple of games with four scalps to his name. Mystery spinner Sunil Narine was the most economical one of them all, picking up one wicket having conceded just 12 runs at an impressive economy rate of three from his quota of four overs.
Predicted XI for Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings
Kolkata Knight Riders
As far as both sides’ overseas availabilities are concerned, pacer Pat Cummins and senior batter Aaron Finch will only be available for selection after April 5. While Finch is currently leading Australia in the ongoing limited-overs series against Pakistan, Cummins cannot participate in IPL 2022 till the said date as per Cricket Australia (CA)’s central contracts rule. There will be an injury concern around Andre Russell’s availability.
Punjab Kings
As for PBKS, they will be welcoming Proteas pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada in their playing XI. England’s explosive wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow has also joined the PBKS camp and it would be interesting to see when he would be in the team’s scheme of things as far as the selection availability process is concerned.
