Match Preview: Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders – Clash for the Top 4:-
Match number 31 of ipl 2025 on one side are Kings of Punjab on the other side are Knight Riders of Kolkata will the storm of Suresh and Arya come once again in this match or is KKR ready to wreak havoc with the pair of R5 by R5 mean Rinku Russell Ramandeep Rahane and Raghuvanshi this match is going to be played on 15th April from 7:30 pm in Chandigarh whichever team wins this match will come in the top four and the team which loses will go far away from the top four it is a very important match for both the teams this match is going to be played on 15th April from 7:30 pm at Maharaja Yadav Inder Singh Stadium in Mullapur .
Head-to-Head: History Favors KKR:-
The head to head battle end 33 matches have been played between the two teams 21 have been won by KKR 12 have been won by Punjab KKR has the upper end in front of Punjab but in the last 10 at the matches, here also KKR won six and Punjab won four. Here also the upper end is of KKR. Last year two matches were played between these two teams, one was won by Punjab and one was won by KKR and the match which Punjab won was won by Kolkata. It was the biggest run chase in history.
Flashback: That Unreal 261 Chase:-
KKR had made 261 and here KKR was thinking that we have won the match, now this chase will not happen, but in that match something happened which has never happened before and maybe it will be difficult in future too, 261 was chased in 18.4 overs and Punjab won the match by eight wickets.
Punjab Kings: Full-On Destruction Mode:-
From KKR’s side Salt had made a brilliant 75, he is not a part of the team, but Narayan also made 20 plus, he is a part of the team and in the middle order both Ayers, Shreyas Ayers who will now play from Punjab, Venkatus Russell all played well, while from Punjab’s side we got to see a century, Baristow is not a part of the team, but Prabhu Simran is a part of the team, he also made 54, apart from that he hit eight sixes.
PBKS Bowling: Brilliant Names, Poor Performance:-
Shashank Singh had hit 68 runs in 28 balls and he is also a part of the team at present and is ready to bring a storm to create havoc.About Punjab Kings, the team of Punjab Kings has come in full on destruction mode, it is playing in the same format as SRH and has scored 240 plus twice this year, they may have lost the previous match but they scared everyone, what a match it was, they scored 245 runs in 20 overs and this is the second time this year they are crossing 240 plus, SRH chased it they are getting hit a lot against them, they had made 243 against Gujarat, even there Gujarat almost won, it was chased, their bowlers gave away all the runs, Punjab team won by just 11 runs, after that RR made 200 against them, when they made 218 against Chennai, even there a team like Chennai which is struggling to make 150 also reached 200, so their bowlers are getting hit and in the last match it was too much, their bowlers could not defend 245 and they lost in just 18. 3 overs, so their bowling is still weak, see eight bowling options were used and you will not find economy of any bowler below 10, they are getting hit very badly.
PBKS Batting: Explosive but Unstable:-
Bowlers’ batting is very good, they are in full destruction and this team has very dangerous batsmen, this is also the strength of this team Arya and Prabhu Singhan is wreaking havoc, Shreyas is also giving his best innings this year for Punjab, Nihal Vadera and Shashank have also been seen playing some good knocks and in the last match Stoinis also made 34 off 11, so their batting is very good, they are very destructive and are in form as well, but the situation is that their batting is unstable, if Shreyas Ayer does not stay at one end, then this team can get out at 150 as well, as we saw against Rajasthan that while chasing 200, they got out at 150, so their batting also revolves around Shreyas, he has to stay at one end and play the role of an anchor, however, when he plays the role of an anchor, he does not play like Virat, he bats at a strike rate of 150, 200, he bats at a strike rate of around 200, 170, 180, so there is a difference in them being the anchor, while Ayer and other players’ batting is very good, their bowling is very weak. Much means if they even score 200 then understand that they will not be able to defend it. In the last match, they could not even defend 245. They are getting hit a lot by spin. There could be some changes in the playing 11 as well.
PBKS Probable Changes & Injury Updates:-
Luki Fguson bowled one or two balls and his hamstring was pulled. So if he is fit, he will not play. If he is fit, Batsman will be seen playing in his place. Yash Thakur did not fit very well. Kuldeep Sen could be seen in the playing 11 in his place.
Batting order: About the opening players, they have Priyansh Arya and Prabhu Simran, two uncapped destructive batsmen in the opening and both are wreaking havoc. Recently, Priyansh Arya had scored a century. He had hit 9-10 sixes and had completely destroyed the CSK team. Even after that, he scored 36 runs in 12-13 balls.
Bowling Struggles Continue for Punjab:-
That means, we can call him India’s six-hitting machine. We can call him India’s Nicholas Pooran. He is also a left-handed batsman. He is a handy batsman and has also hit six sixes in the T20 Delhi T20. He has 103 runs in two innings at this venue and a century was scored at this ground. Apart from that, Prabhu Simran is also in good form 42 69.
However, there can be a concern of consistency with both of them because both of them are destructive batsmen. They do not know how to play. They were out on zero when they lost against Rajasthan. But this year they gave a very good start to their team. Both are setting the entire momentum in the power play.
KKR: Defending Champs with Dominant Bowling:-
Apart from that, Shreyas Iyer will be seen in the middle order. He scored 82 in the last match and has also played innings of 97 and 52. He has 456 runs in 14 innings against KKR and this KKR has now become his ex-team. When did he make this team win? And this team did not retain him. They did not consider it necessary to keep him even in the list of five players.
Now it is the time for revenge and Shreyas Iyer would want to prove himself. He will be seen taking revenge here. Nihal Vadera has also played many good innings of 43, 62, 67 and supported his captain. Stoinis’ form in the middle order was a concern for the team, but in the last match, he also hit four sixes in a single over to Mohammad Shami and returned to form.
KKR’s 238 Chase Effort Proves Firepower:-
So the middle order is in very good form. The openers are batting very destructively. Maxwell’s form in the lower order is a concern for the team. Maxwell is not able to score runs, but he can come into form anytime and he wins such a match in 10-12 matches which no one can even imagine. So we will wait for that match, we will wait for that innings, but Shashank is playing very well.
He is playing an innings of 44 and the last time when he was chasing 261 against KKR, he hit eight sixes, played a very good innings, so he can be seen playing that type of innings once again. If needed, Marco Jansen is also there below, he can also bat. He had scored 34 in one match for CSK. Against them, the batting is very deep and very destructive but there is uncertainty and instability.
KKR Batting: Middle Order Strong, Top & Lower Order Wobbly:-
The only anchor is Shreyas Iyer. About bowling, they have big names in bowling, Adeep, Lucky Ferguson, they have very big names, international star Marco Jansen, but all three are getting thrashed like donkeys. However, if you look at the wickets, then Luki has two wickets, two wickets, two wickets. Apart from that, you will also see three wickets, two wickets and one wicket against Adeep, but both of them are not able to control the economy.
At the same time, Marco Jansen is not even getting wickets. He is getting thrashed and he did not get any wicket. Anyway, he proves to be expensive, but he is a very amazing bowler. When he comes in form and takes wickets, he takes two, three or four wickets continuously. However, it is expected that the way he got thrashed in this match, his bowlers are making a comeback in this match.
They must have practiced and sweated in the nets. All three are quality bowlers. Adeep, Lucky and Marco can bowl well. Yash Thakur is very good. He was badly beaten, so in his place think you can see Kuldeep Sen, who is doing well in the domestic cricket and is also a very good bowler. If Loki Ferguson is not fit, then Butt can be seen in his place.
KKR Bowling: Lethal and Balanced:-
He is also a good bowler, his form is also good, he has bowled well recently, so the pace attack is quite decent on paper but he has been quite fit on the field. Their fast bowlers and Stoinis are also being used but they have not got any wickets in four-five matches. About spin, the team definitely has quality spinners like UG Chahal in spin, but he has been able to take only two wickets this year, one is the wicket of Pooran and one is the wicket of Travis Head.
He has taken two big wickets, but in the rest of the matches he has been beaten a lot, he has 29 wickets against KKR, so this will be in their mind and it is possible that the clever Chahal makes a comeback in this match. Quinton Maxwell also takes big wickets and he is also a good bowler, but this year both of them have not been seen in that good form, so this is also a matter of concern for Punjab.
About Kolkata Knight Riders, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders have a very good career, under the leadership of new captain Rahane, Rahane is also showing his battle skills and in the last match they defeated Chennai Super Kings in their home ground, they bowled them out for 103, nine wickets fell, sorry, they were almost all out and won the match in just 10 overs, the bowling was amazing, Vaibhav Arora, see what an amazing economy of one wicket, Moeen Ali bowled four overs with an economy of five, he also took a wicket, Ranan took two wickets with an economy of four, Varun Chakraborty took two wickets with an economy of 5 and here he took three wickets, Narayan bowled with an economy of 3, what an amazing tight bowling they are bowling, on top of that the batting is also amazing, Narayan’s destructive innings, he hit five sixes, he looked in good form in 44 balls in 18 balls and he was promoted in the last match, so we got to see a great match from Kolkata, the game before this They were chasing 238 against Lucknow and in that match they almost won the match.
They lost the match by just four runs. So this team has the capability to chase 238. 245 was chased against Punjab but this team could have chased 238 before that. Lucknow’s love factor worked a little and this team lost the match. In that match we had predicted Lucknow.
Venue Insight – Mullanpur, Chandigarh:-
Currently the scene with Kolkata Knight Riders is that their batting is also quite unstable and their bowling is very good. This is a good thing. They are bowling better than Punjab. One change can be seen. Spencer might come in place of Moeen Ali because the wicket of Mullapur Chandigarh is not a turning track. So this change can happen.
Currently KKR is at fifth position and PVKS is at sixth position. The team that wins this match will come in the top four and the team that loses will go a little far. Let’s preview their players.
If compared to Punjab, they have a lot of experience. But this year, Punjab’s openers have given a good start. Even though he is one captain player, look, if we leave out these 97, De Kock has flopped in all the other matches. Narine has been doing well in two matches. He scored 44 in 18, 30 here and 44 here. So, Narayan has appeared more consistent than De Kock.
Even though Narine is not scoring runs like last year, but still he has appeared more consistent. So Narine can once again give a good start to his team. De Kock’s form is the biggest problem for the team. And the opening pair has been KKR’s weak link this year. Ajinkya Rahane, Venkata Iyer and Ang Krish in the middle order are the real strength of Kolkata.
Final Take: High Stakes, High Voltage:-
There are three stable batsmen in the middle order and all three are in good form. Look, Ajinkya Rahane 20 21, this also came not out 21 38 There have been more half centuries and against Punjab as well he has 505 runs in 20 innings. Venkatas Iyer, who was retained at a very high price, 45, 60, 80, he is also in very good form and in the last match he did not even bat, 154 runs in five innings against Punjab can be called a decent number, apart from that, if we talk about Ang Chris, he also hit 50 recently and keeps scoring 30, 35, so all three stable batsmen are in very good form and this is the real strength of Kolkata, the opening is not going well, initial setbacks are coming quickly, still they are handling it, while if we about the lower order, then they have amazing batting at the bottom, if seen on paper, they have a very deep batting line-up, Rinku Russell, Ramandeep, Moeen Ali, there are four batsmen deep down in the lower order, but only one batsman is in form, Rinku Singh who scored two 30 plus scores, 15 run outs in the last match, rest if Russell .
Vaibhav, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Russell and Spencer Johnson are their current pace attack. Spencer Johnson will return in this match and he is their weak link. Their third pacer is very weak and he is getting beaten a lot. When he is not playing, Russell is playing and Russell is wickets but at an economy of 141.
They are conceding runs, that’s okay, but the strength is Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana. These two pacers are doing very well. They are bowling well in the power play and also bowling well in the death overs. See, Arora and Harshit Rana have taken two wickets each consecutively. Both have bowled well and if they want, they can push Punjab on the backfoot by sending Prem Simran and Arya to the pavilion early. Spin is the real strength of this team.
Two amazing spinners like Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. And if Moeen Ali plays, then only Spencer Johnson will play and in the last match, he also bowled very well. He took a wicket by giving away just 20 runs. Sunil Narine took three wickets against Chennai in the last match and Varun Chakravarthy took two wickets.
Who Will Break Into the Top 4?:-
Even before this, they have taken three wickets each many times. Sunil Narine has 34 wickets against Punjab and Chakravarthy has eight wickets. So Sunil Narine and Chakravarthy together can be a Chakravyuh in front of the Punjabi batsmen, but don’t forget this. It must be that brother, in front of this same bowling lineup, Punjab had chased a big total of 261.
About the ground, so seven matches have been played on this ground, the average score is 170, four matches have been defended and three matches have been chased. Three times the score has been 190 plus, twice 170, 190 and twice below 150.
If we look at the last few matches, a lot of runs have been scored, 219 was scored in the second innings as well, 200 was scored, Chennai made 204 and RR won against Punjab by 50 runs this year, apart from that 142 was chased, here 192 was defended. Mumbai defended against Punjab, both the pacers and the spinners are taking wickets. The pacers are taking a little more wickets and a lot of runs are made here, if 180 plus is scored here, then it gets defended, it is difficult to chase, but if it is scored below that, then it gets chased. Okay, in seven matches, 69 wickets have been taken by the pacers and 26 The spinners have taken the wickets, the wicket is very good, it gets slow with time, in the beginning we get to see swing etc. and if it is a batting friendly wicket, then we get to see runs, we can expect a total of around 200, it can be a high scoring match.