Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will face the strong Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing IPL at Mohali in a do or die clash on Tuesday. Team Kolkata has already sealed their spot for play-offs, but team Punjab is still 6 points away from entering into the knock out round. Now, Maxwell needs to win the remaining 3 matches consecutively to seal team Punjab’s berth at play-off.
IPL 2017 Live Score: Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders #IPL
KKR have bounced back hard in their previous match beating RCB easily on Sunday by six wickets. Gautam Gambhir must be looking forward to retain the same winning momentum with a victory against KXIP as well.
Also Read: IPL 2017: Complete fixtures, schedule and time in IST with venue details
Team News for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)
Though it will be very difficult for KXIP to win the remaining three matches successively, but they will try hard to beat KKR and regain the confidence back. In their last match against Gujarat Lions, Punjab failed to defend their scoreboard total of 189 courtesy a fantastic ton from Hashim Amla, while Gujarat’s Dwayne Smith smashed 39-ball 74 cruising his team to a fantastic win.
KXIP now needs to beat KKR, MI and RPS consecutively to make it to the play-off round. So, every match that KXIP now plays will be knock out for them. Lots will depend upon how their opener Hashim Amla plays, the talented right hander has already amassed 400+ runs with 2 tons this IPL season.
Then the middle order including experienced cricketers like Martin Guptill, Wriddhiman Saha, Axar Patel, Manan Vohra and Shaun Marsh will also have to play responsible knocks to help Punjab post a big total on the scoreboard. Fast bowler Sandeep Sharma will be a key to Punjab’s otherwise weak bowling line up. Axar Patel’s left-arm orthodox spin could be crucial too against KKR.
Team News for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
KKR currently have 16 points from 11 games and are sitting at the second spot at IPL points table. In a match against RCB, KKR proved its batting prowess scoring 105 in just 6 overs without losing any wicket – that’s the brimming confidence of the team. Both Chris Lynn (22-ball 50) and Sunil Narine (17-ball 54) played one of the finest IPL knocks on Sunday.
Now, that KKR openers are doing well, Kolkata might expect similar exhilarating performance from its middle-order batsmen as well including the likes of Grandhomme, Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan against KXIP.
KKR’s Bowling will largely depend upon the troika of Chris Woakes, Sunil Narine and Umesh Yadav. Considering the turning track at Mohali – spinners like Piyush Chawla and Ankit Rajpoot are expected to get some turn too.
Probable Playing XI (Both Teams)
Kolkata Knight Riders KKR: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Gautam Gambhir (Captain), Robin Uthappa (Wicket Keeper), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Colin de Grandhomme, Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav and Piyush Chawla and Ankit Rajpoot.
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP): Hashim Amla, Martin Guptill, Manan Vohra, Glenn Maxwell (Captain), Shaun Marsh, Wriddhiman Saha (Wicket keeper), Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan and Varun Aaron.
Head-to-head: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have 14-6 win-loss record against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).
Match Result Prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will win.
Venue: PCA Stadium, Mohali. The match will telecast live on SONY ESPN from 8 PM onwards.
Tags: #IPL, Indian Premier League, IPL 10, IPL 2017, Kings XI Punjab, KKR, Kolkata Knight Riders, KXIP, Live Score, Mohali, PCA Stadium, VIVO IPL
