Punjab Kings have gotten their IPL 2021 back on track with a convincing win against Mumbai Indians while Kolkata Knight Riders are currently at the bottom.
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The IPL 2021 clash between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders is a clash of two unpredictable sides. When you expect them to lose badly, they bring their A-game. When one believes that the side might post an easy win, they lose. Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders have defied expectations but in different ways. KL Rahul’s team were expected to be blown away by Mumbai Indians but they put up a spirited performance. Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, had all the resources to deflate Rajasthan Royals but they stumbled.
At the end of the day, it is Punjab Kings who are in fifth spot while Kolkata Knight Riders are at the bottom. The two-time IPL champions might be looking at a repeat of 2009, where they finished last. The top-order has once again become inconsistent. The lower-order misfires. Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell are actually the core of the batting but they have not had any support from Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi and Eoin Morgan. The bowling has suffered as a result.
On the other hand, Punjab Kings have suddenly found depth in batting and bowling. The addition of Ravi Bishnoi worked wonders in Chennai. The batting fired, with KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Chris Gayle all firing in unison. But, since the total was low, there might be stiffer challenges in store for Punjab Kings when confronted with a big total.
Punjab Kings seemed to have found the right balance in their team with the addition of Bishnoi against Mumbai Indians. They might make some changes, considering that this will be the first IPL match at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. In the T20Is played there, different wickets produced varying scores. Punjab Kings might have the attack to sort things out. But, Kolkata Knight Riders need their batting to fire as the bowling has held its own.
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Moises Henriques, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
Kolkata Knight Riders: Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna
Match No.21: Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Venue: Narendra Modi stadium, Ahmedabad
Time: 7:30 PM IST
The weather in Ahmedabad will be dry with a high of 43 degrees and a minimum of 27 degrees.The humidity will be only 12 percent, meaning dew will not be a factor. The pitch has tended to favour batting but has often been sluggish. A total in excess of 150 will be defendable.
Kolkata Knight Riders hold a 18-9 advantage against Punjab Kings. In IPL 2014, Kolkata Knight Riders denied Punjab Kings the chance to win their maiden IPL when they lost the final in Bangalore.
