This article will discuss the probable XIs for both teams, match previews, Dream11 predictions, and the winning fantasy team for the 45th match of IPL 2021 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings scheduled to take place on the 1st of October 2021.
Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) led by Eoin Morgan are currently in the 4th spot having won 5 of their 11 games and they will face a struggling Punjab Kings in Dubai on Friday. The KL Rahul-led PBKS have won only 4 of their 11 and in the previous fixture between the sides in Ahmedabad, KKR reigned supreme by 5 wickets.
Punjab Kings lost their previous game against the Mumbai Indians on Tuesday quite convincingly by 6 wickets in a low-scoring game. Batting first, they could make just 135/6 with Aiden Markram top-scoring with 42 from 29. Skipper KL Rahul could not give a good start like he always to the side and the absence of Mayank Agarwal didn’t help the cause. in the end, a 45 from Sourabh Tiwary followed by a useful 40* from Hardik sealed the deal with an over to spare.
KKR on the other hand won theirs against a strong Delhi Capitals keeping their impressive run in the UAE leg intact. They had earlier beaten top sides like RCB, MI, and now DC to make their playoff chances no harm. Coming to the match, they restricted the Capitals to 127/9 with Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, and Ferguson taking 2 wickets each. Though the chase was not straightforward, their openers once again got good starts but a late surge from Narine(21 off 9) on a difficult track along with an unbeaten 36 from Rana gave them a 2 wicket win.
Match Details
Venue: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai
Pitch and Weather: Pitches in Dubai have been contrasting. While a few stayed throughout the course of the match, making run-scoring easy, the other one slowed in the 2nd innings. Pacers might get some assistance with the new ball, while spinners also will be handy. The weather is likely to be sunny with the temperature touching to the late 30s even though it is a 6.00 PM start.
Date & Time: October 1, 6.00 PM Local time, 7.30 PM IST
Probable Playing XIs
Punjab Kings will need their middle-order to step up. It is high time that the West Indies duo of Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran is amongst the runs. The bowling form of Shami, Arshdeep, and Bishnoi is happy news for the Punjab Kings while it will be refreshing for them to see Aiden Markram, a batsman apart from KL Rahul making runs.
Kolkata had a complete performance last game and would want to continue with the same team here as well. Though Morgan hasn’t been amongst runs, the others around him have contributed at crucial junctures and will be with the fact that the match-winner Sunil Narine is back.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan(c), Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik(wk), Sandeep Warrier, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson
Punjab Kings
KL Rahul(C & WK), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh/ Deepak Hooda, Chris Gayle, Mohammad Shami, Harpreet Brar, Akshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Nathan Ellis/Chris Jordan
Match Prediction
Kolkata Knight Riders will start as favorites in this game against the Punjab Kings. They have won 3 of their 4 games in UAE so far and look set to further in this tournament.
For online cricket bettors, Sky247 provides an amazing signup bonus and an unbeatable betting exchange!
Fantasy Tips
Batsmen: 3 top-order batsmen from KKR can be selected here. The likes of Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana have all been in good form in this leg of IPL and are expected to score the bulk of the runs for the team. From PBKS, Aiden Markram and Mayank Agarwal can be the other 2 batsmen in the fantasy XI.
Wicket-Keepers: KL Rahul, the skipper of PBKS who is in decent form can be picked and is the lone wicket-keeper batsman.
All-rounders: Among all-rounders, we have 2 from KKR. The recent sensation Venkatesh Iyer chipped in with 2 crucial wickets last game to along with his impressive batting display and Sunil Narine, who has had a great tournament thus far here in the UAE.
Bowlers: Ravi Bishnoi can be one of the bowlers who can be chosen in the fantasy XI along with impressive Arshdeep Singh from the Punjab Kings. Varun Chakravarthy is the only pick from Morgan’s side.
Captaincy Choices
Fantasy Team: Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, KL Rahul(C), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine(VC), Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
Captain – KL Rahul
Punjab skipper is the leading run-scorer for his team and is expected to be amongst runs in this game as well.
Vice-Captain – Sunil Narine
Having already made few notable contributions in the KKR’s resurgence in this leg, Sunil Narine is expected to play a key role in both departments once again. So he is the vice-captain of the side.
Dream11 Team
