Find out team news, TV and streaming information, odds, weather forecasts and much, much more ahead of the next game of the 2021 Indian Premier League season
Kolkata Knight Riders meet Punjab Kings in the 2021 Indian Premier League.
The game is scheduled for 6pm UAE (3pm BST, 7.30pm IST) on Friday, October 1, 2021.
The two sides will meet at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
Kolkata Knight Riders are in red-hot form right now. They’ve won three out of their four games convincingly since the restart, with their only loss coming at the hands of table-toppers Chennai Super Kings off the last ball. Eoin Morgan’s men sit in fourth place in the table, level on points with title-holders Mumbai Indians but are a spot above them on account of net run rate, and stand every chance of qualifying for the knockouts if their rich vein of form continues.
Punjab Kings, meanwhile, have found life a little trickier in the UAE. Their only win in the second half of the competition was over tournament whipping boys Sunrisers Hyderabad, coming up short against both Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians. For whatever reason it just hasn’t quite clicked for the Kings yet: coach Anil Kumble and captain KL Rahul have struggled to find a winning team balance, and it is probably fair to suggest that they still don’t quite know what their strongest eleven is.
Dafabet have installed KKR as favourites to take the win, offering odds of 4/6 for them to prevail.
Punjab Kings are meanwhile available at a slightly longer 23/20.
If boundaries are your thing (why wouldn't they be?) then have a look at the match fours market.
Both sides are evens to hit the rope the most times, with the tie available at 11/1.
Sunil Narine has been impressive for the Knight Riders, with the West Indian looking close to his best since the restart. Bowling returns of 2 for 18, 3 for 41, 1 for 20 and 0 for 20 demonstrate the consistent levels of quality the 33-year-old has been displaying of late, and while some have questioned his apparent decline with the bat, a rapid 21 off 10 from number seven against Delhi Capitals highlighted that he still has that destructive ability that has made him one of the world’s most valuable T20 cricketers over the years.
IPL sides have a history of paying through the nose for Australian seamers that struggle to deliver outside of the Big Bash League. But in Nathan Ellis, Punjab may well have found a pacer to buck the trend. It’s early days yet, but the right-armer’s spell of 1 for 12 against Mumbai Indians showed real nous at the death, going for just four runs off the 16th over. On another day, his performance could have been a match-winning one. Another display of similar quality, and the New South Wales-native will really put himself on the map.
The Knight Riders are unlikely to tinker too much with their winning formula. Eyebrows were raised when Tim Southee was called up as a replacement for Australian Pat Cummins, but he delivered a solid return of 1 for 29 against Delhi Capitals in his last outing and is likely to keep his place in the side. Seamer Prasidh Krishna was left out last time around in favour of fellow paceman Sandeep Warrier, and while the former displays considerable upsides, his returns have been expensive of late. The 30-year-old Warrier will be expected to retain his spot after two relatively economical overs last time around.
For the Kings, opener Mayank Agarwal missed out in their last game against Mumbai Indians with a stiff back and was replaced by Mandeep Singh. Though uncapped by India in the shortest form of the game, Agarwal has built a reputation as one of the finer domestic openers in the IPL, and, should he be deemed fit, will likely slot straight back in at Mandeep’s expense. Failing that, Kumble and Rahul may consider moving Chris Gayle up to open. The West Indian has had some success at three of late, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that both he and Aidan Markram (who has been carded at No.4) would prefer to be a spot higher.
The two teams have played each other 28 times.
Kolkata Knight Riders wins: 19
Punjab Kings wins: 9
Temperatures will reach 34 degrees Celsius with humidity reached 61 per cent for the start of play.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, a limited number of fans are allowed to attend games during the IPL's UAE leg.
KKR have a good record since the restart and can put distance between themselves and the chasing pack here. Punjab Kings should be sitting ducks here.
IPL TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports have the rights in the United Kingdom.
You can aso stream the tournament using the Disney+ Hotstar digital platform, though the matches are only available for VIP or Premium subscribers.
Star Sports have the television rights in India.
Streaming service YuppTV have acquired digital streaming rights in a host of markets, including Australia, continental Europe, Malaysia, Southeast Asia with the exception of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Central Asia, and Central and South America.
In the USA, the games will be broadcast on Willow TV and the Willow TV website. Fox Sports have the broadcasting rights in Australia, while Supersport will televise the games in South Africa. In the Caribbean, Flow TV have the rights.
The following broadcasters owning the rights for their respective regions:
Bangladesh: Channel 9
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Malaysia: Measat
MENA/UAE: BeIN Sport
Hong Kong: Now TV
Singapore: SingTel
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Papua New Guinea: EMTV
Kolkata Knight Riders squad: Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Pawan Negi, Tim Seifert, Shakib al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Tim Southee
Punjab Kings squad: KL Rahul (c), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar, Nathan Ellis
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Sandeep Warrier, Varun Chakravarthy
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
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