What

Match 44 of Pepsi IPL 2015 will see the Kolkata Knight Riders clash with Kings XI Punjab.

KKR, with 13 points from 11 outings, are placed in the top half of the table and are one of the contenders for a place in the Playoffs. They head into this match at the back of convincing wins over Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils and have the chance to climb to the top two places in the standings.

KXIP have had a largely forgettable season; they have managed only two wins from ten matches and lie at the floor of the table. For KXIP, who are now all but out of the race from qualifying for the Playoffs, foremost on the list will be to go and play their brand of cricket, give their fans reason to cheer and possibly ruin the plans of some of the other Playoff contenders. Coach Sanjay Bangar, in his interaction with the media on the eve of the match, said his team would attempt to play their brand of and hoped to hit some team hard and hurt some team in a big way.

When

09 May 2015, 4p.m. IST

Where

Eden Gardens, Kolkata

The Protagonists

KKR’s template – especially while playing at home – is for their spinners to tie up the opposition and the opening batsmen to bat through major portion of the innings. Given this match will be played on a sunny afternoon, the focus will yet again be on the spinners – especially on Brad Hogg and his bagful of tricks.

Kings XI Punjab need one inspirational performance to turn around their disastrous season and don’t have to look beyond Wriddhiman Saha. The 30-year old hails from Kolkata, has played lots of cricket at the Eden Gardens, and will have fond memories of playing against KKR - he scored a century in last season’s final against KKR.

Previous Meetings

The head to head to head between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab reads 10-6 in favour of the former.

When these two teams met in Pune earlier this season, KKR recovered from a tricky position at 60 for 5, to chase down a target of 156, thanks mainly to a late charge by Andre Russell, who scored 66 from 36 balls.

Trivia

Starting with IPL 2013, the Kolkata Knight Riders have won 12 of their 15 matches at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The opening partnership of Kings XI Punjab’s opponents in the last six matches reads: 95, 50, 10, 106, 111 & 119.

What Next

Kolkata Knight Riders’s next fixture: Vs. Mumbai Indians in Mumbai, 14 May 2015
Kings XI Punjab’s next fixture: Vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad, 11 May 2015