Updates:
The toss at the Eden Gardens has gone in favour of Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with the latter facing a near do-or-die clash. Both sides have made changes to their XI, with Punjab, who are batting first, bringing in Glenn Maxwell and Azmatullah Omarzai for Marcus Stoinis and Josh Inglis.
Meanwhile, the home side have brought in Rovman Powell and Chetan Sakariya for Moeen Ali and Ramandeep Singh.
KKR playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.
PBKS playing XI: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Preview:
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) find themselves in a must-win territory as they come up against Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 game at the iconic Eden Gardens. Although the Punjab Kings can afford a misstep, the Knight Riders' campaign is on thin ice and must win on Saturday to keep themselves alive in the tournament.
Although the Punjab Kings started their campaign with back-to-back victories, three defeats means they have slightly hit a blip. Punjab Kings' top-order batting approach might need a rethink as they look to bounce back from a defeat to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Mullanpur.
Meanwhile, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) need a quick fix, especially the middle-order batters need to find form to turn their fortunes around. The likes of Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell must step up after failing to step up with the bat so far, with the former yet to make an impact after fetching ₹23.75 crore in the auction. Moreover, the 16-run defeat to Punjab earlier in the season while chasing 111 might be playing in their minds.
KKR vs PBKS IPL 2025 squads:
KKR squad: 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, Chetan Sakariya.
PBKS squad: 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.
