Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Punjab Kings, IPL 2024: Three Key Player Battles To Watch Out For

Kolkata Knight Riders are set to lock horns with Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens in match 42 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Friday. (Preview | Full Coverage)

Kolkata Knight Riders are at the second spot in the points table with five wins in seven games whereas Punjab Kings are second-last in the table with two wins in eight matches.

KKR's batting has been the dominant factor in their performance this season, although their bowling has been less accurate. Sunil Narine and Phil Salt have played some outstanding innings at the top of the order, while Rinku Singh and Andre Russell pose a threat to any bowling lineup during the death overs.

The Punjab Kings need some victories to stay alive in the fight for the playoffs from here. The full-time captain Shikar Dhawan is expected to return in the next match. The new stars of PBKS, Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh will be hoping to showcase some more fireworks in the game against KKR on Friday.

KKR vs PBKS Full Squads:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain and Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw.

As KKR prepare to clash against Punjab Kings on Friday, three key player battles between both teams are worth looking out for from the IPL 2024 match

1. Phil Salt vs Kagiso Rabada

Phil Salt likes to give a blistering start to the KKR's innings and make full use of the powerplay along with Sunil Narine at the non-striker's end. Kagiso Rabada, who has sheer pace and accuracy in his bowling can pose a threat to the destructive batter. Rabada comes to bowl in the powerplay where he can meet with the English destructive batter. Both overseas players are of high calibre and their battle on the cricket field will be an interesting one to watch.

2. Prabhsimran Singh vs Mitchell Starc

Punjab Kings have used Prabhsimran Singh as an impact player in the batting and he likes to score quick runs and in the powerplay. However, he has not been successful but he will surely be hoping to use the pace of Mitchell Starc who also had a miserable season so far. Starc has extra pace which can be useful against the Punjab batter as well.

3. Andre Russell vs Harshal Patel

Andre Russell is one of the most destructive batters in the world. He powers the innings of KKR in the death overs and can change the face of the game single-handedly on his day. Harshal Patel has numerous variations and can use them against the Caribbean batter on Friday. Who will come up on top in this player battle, will be an interesting thing to watch out for.