PBKS players celebrate a wicket
©Reuters
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TATA IPL 2025 Match 44 - Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS) - Cricket Betting Tips and Match Predictions: April 26
Here are the Fantasy Cricket Predictions and Betting Tips for the TATA IPL - Indian Premier League, Match 44 - Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS), which will be played on the 26th of April at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Match 44 - Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS) (Eden Gardens, Kolkata)
Current Form Kolkata Knight Riders:
Kolkata Knight Riders are currently placed at the 7th position on points table with 3 wins and 5 losses to their credit.
The NRR for Kolkata Knight Riders is 0.212.
The top run scorer for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League is Ajinkya Rahane with 271 runs to his name.
The top wicket taker for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League is Harshit Rana with 12 scalps under his belt.
Kolkata Knight Riders have lost their previous match against Gujarat Titans by 39 runs.
Gujarat Titans batted first and they posted a total of 198 for 3 in 20 overs. Sai Sudharshan and Shubman Gill played with a lot of freedom and class. Sudharshan made 52 runs while Gill went on to score 90 runs in just 55 balls, hitting 10 fours and 3 sixes. Jos Buttler also contributed healthily as Titans managed to get to a tall total of 198 in their innings.
During the chase, Kolkata Knight Riders lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine early on in the innings. After their dismissals, Ajinkya Rahane tried to revive the innings by scoring 50 runs but he also got out at a wrong time. The rest of the middle order simply collapsed against a quality bowling attack of Gujarat Titans. They were eventually restricted to 159 for 8 in 20 overs, losing the match by 39 runs.
Current Form Punjab Kings:
Punjab Kings on the other hand are currently placed at the 5th position on points table with 5 wins and 3 losses to their credit.
The NRR for Punjab Kings is 0.177.
The top run scorer for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League is Shreyas Iyer with 263 runs to his name.
The top wicket taker for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League is Arshdeep Singh with 11 scalps under his belt.
Punjab Kings have lost their previous match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 7 wickets.
Punjab Kings batted first and they posted a total of 157 for 6 in 20 overs. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh played well and scored 22 and 33 runs respectively. Shreyas Iyer got out without troubling the scorers much. After his dismissal, Josh Inglis played a whirlwind knock of 29 runs in 17 balls. However, the lower order batters failed to capitalise on that and Punjab Kings were reduced to 157 for 6 in their innings.
During the chase, Royal Challengers Bengaluru lost Phil Salt early on in the innings. After his dismissal, Virat Kohli took the responsibility of taking Royal Challengers Bengaluru over the line. He smashed 73 runs off 54 balls. Devdutt Padikkal also played a sublime knock of 61 runs to take Royal Challengers Bengaluru home in the 19th over with 7 wickets in hand.
Let’s have a look at the squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders
Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali
Punjab Kings
Shreyas Iyer (c), Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, Lockie Ferguson, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Aaron Hardie, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett, Pyla Avinash, Pravin Dubey, Nehal Wadhera
Cricket Betting Tips and Match Predictions* - PrePlay
Who will win the toss? – Punjab Kings
Who will win?- Punjab Kings
Top Batter (Runs Scored) - Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings), Venkatesh Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Top Bowler (Wickets taken) - Yuzvendra Chahal (Punjab Kings), Varun Chakravarthy (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Most Sixes – Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings), Venkatesh Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Player of the Match- Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings)
Team Scores Batting first – Punjab Kings 175+, Kolkata Knight Riders 160+
Match Handicap: Punjab Kings
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*NB these predictions may be changed nearer the start of the match once the final starting teams have been announced and we will be running ‘In-Play’ features, so stay tuned.
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