Kings XI Punjab VS Kolkata Knight Riders Match Prediction and Betting Tips
KXIP VS KKR MATCH PREDICTION & ANALYSIS
Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders will clash in the 24th match of IPL 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday (October 10). This will be the 25th encounter between the two sides, with Kolkata Knight Riders holding a 17-8 head-to-head advantage against Kings XI Punjab. Going into the match, KKR is freshly off a clinical 10-run win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and have won three out of their first five matches of the tournament. While the middle and the top order of KKR is still being experimented with by skipper Dinesh Karthik, but the side has been somewhat consistent in all parts of the play. Coming to KXIP, skipper KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal’s opening partnerships have been key for them so far but the side fails to deliver when the middle and lower order comes in to bat. KXIP’s bowlers have also been very expensive with young Ravi Bishnoi being one of the only consistent players in the bowling department. Nicholas Pooran has recently started to fire with the bat, however, other key foreign players like Glenn Maxwell and Sheldon Cottrell are yet to find their feet in the tournament. There is a high probability that Chris Gayle makes his first appearance for the Kings in the IPL 2020 against KKR, who missed out on his chance to face SRH after suffering food poisoning just before the game. KXIP is currently sitting dead bottom on the standings and has won only one of their first six games of the tournament and if they want to book their place in the playoffs, things need to change for good now.
Pitch Report
The pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium should play host to an even contest between bat and ball. Although the batsmen have enjoyed success over the last few games, the pacers have been crucial to the outcome of the game with enough help on offer. In addition to the extra bounce, the pacers have enjoyed swing with the new ball, which has kept the batsmen on their toes. Similarly, the spinners should also get the ball to skid off the surface with a hint of turn on offer.
TEAM PREVIEW
KINGS XI PUNJAB
KXIP has lost four matches in a row and the bowling has been below parIn these four games, they have conceded 199.75 runs at an average.KXIP need to sort this out if they are to stop KKR. Also, the batting is too reliant on the openers, besides Nicholas Pooran. Skipper Kl Rahul needs to start fresh and change the dynamics.
Captain Lokesh Rahul who also holds the orange cup is the only one who has been consistent for the team up until now with Mayank Agarwal supporting him at the top. However, KL Rahul or Mayank Agarwal have failed to turn the fortunes of KXIP in Indian Premier League 2020.
The No.3 conundrum continues with Karun Nair dropped after a couple of games and Nicholas Pooran given the job. Pooran has been one of the exciting talents in T20s and has played his role perfectly in last four games. But he has had no support from the likes of Glenn Maxwell or Sarfaraz Khan who haven’t showed any intent to step up when the team is in trouble.
Mandeep who was brought in place of Sarfaraz hasn’t done much yet that exerts a lot of pressure on the top 3 again. The bowling has been horrendous with their pace guns Mohammed Shami and Sheldon Cottrell going for a lot of runs with Ravi Bishnoi the only one who has bowled satisfactorily in all the sic games.
Mujeeb Ur Rehman is a good option which they will have to persist for the next 3-4 games because of the mystery he brings to the table. The local talent Arshdeep Singh was exceptional and has done an amazing job as the 3rd pacer in the team.
The likely replacement would be to play Chris Gayle in place of Maxwell at the top along with Rahul that lifts pressure from the middle order with Mayank and Pooran present.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
It was a commendable win for KKR against CSK as they came back well at the death to stop MS Dhoni’s side. KKR need their batsmen to fire and the form of Andre Russell will be a cause of concern. The bowling has done well of late and the faith shown in the youngsters has been fruitful. KKR will hope to impose their authority. KKR did the perfect job by opening Rahul Tripathi along with Shubman Gill which gave them instant results. The pair has the ability to score heavy in the first six without throwing their wicket away. There’s no question about Nitish Rana playing at No.3 who has been one of the consistent batsmen for the team. That brings us to the next three slots that has undergone a lot of shuffles.
It would be better to slot in someone like Eoin Morgan who settles in and can go bang in the last five with Andre Russel coming in next. Andre Russel at 5 is the ideal position with a little bit of breathing space for him to get his timing right.
The captain Dinesh Karthik will have to demote himself to No.6 and play the finisher role for the side. There are no such complaints about the bowling which defended 167 the other night.
The pace attack led by top bowler Pat Cummins along with youngsters Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi have lifted the spirits of the team. More than anything, it is the emergence of Varun Chakravarthy as a prime spinner with Kuldeep Yadav around.
The Tamil Nadu youngster took the important wicket of MS Dhoni and looks like a permanent in the eleven with Kuldeep struggling. Sunil Narine could be used as a floater but it would be better to not spoil the batting lineup just to accommodate him. He has been a match winner for the team and has continued his job without much noise.
KXIP v KKR Favorite Bets:
Kolkata Knight Riders to win
Kolkata has won three of five so far to sit fourth in the table, with their two defeats coming against Mumbai and Delhi – who currently sit first and second respectively.
Kings XI, meanwhile, find themselves bottom with just one victory in six.
Over 11.5 wickets in the match
This bet has landed in eight of the 11 combined matches contested by these two sides.
Neither batting lineup is firing particularly well at the moment, while strong bowling attacks on both sides should see plenty of wickets fall again on Saturday.
Glenn Maxwell to score under 18.5 runs (If Playing)
Maxwell is yet to justify his hefty price tag for Punjab, with the Australia international yet to pass this mark in six innings.
He hasn’t looked close to form at any point in the tournament so far, so backing him to fall short yet again looks a good bet.
Shubman Gill to score over 24.5 runs
Gill was dismissed cheaply in Kolkata’s last match against Chennai, but the young star rarely fails twice in a row.
He has passed this mark in three of his five innings in this year’s IPL.
Top Batsman (Runs Scored) – Shubman Gill (Kolkata Knight Riders), KL Rahul (Kings XI Punjab)
Top Bowler (Wickets taken) – Varun Chakravarthy (Kolkata Knight Riders), Mohammed Shami (Kings XI Punjab)
Most Sixes – Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders), Chris Gayle (Kings XI Punjab)
Man of the Match – Andre Russell
Team Scores Batting first – Kolkata Knight Riders 200+, Kings XI Punjab 185+
