The third to last round of matches in the Indian Premier League begins on Friday when the Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Punjab Kings in a match which could have a pivotal say in the race for the IPL 2021 playoffs.
The Knight Riders sit in control of their own destiny but they can soon lose that with a defeat here. You would think the Kings would need to win their last three matches if they are going to extend their season so this is massive for them.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The Kolkata Knight Riders have come out from the delay swinging at everything with the bat and although that is a risky play on this tiring pitches, so far it has served them well. They have won three out of four matches and in the match they lose they took it down to the final ball of the match. I think their style will go best here in Dubai where the pitch looks to be playing the best of the three venues so they should be full of confidence heading in here.
Everything looks to be working for the Knight Riders at the minute. They are keeping sides tight in the main and are batting extremely well. The fact they beat the Delhi Capitals last time out will only serve to give them even more confidence going into this one. They probably need two decent wins from their last three matches to make it through to the playoffs, but if they win all three then they are guaranteed at least fourth spot in the table.
Punjab Kings
It has been more of a struggle for the Punjab Kings since the restart, with the only win they have achieved in the three matches they have played in the UAE coming against the Sunrisers Hyderabad who are by far the worst side in the competition. The Kings should have had two wins from their three matches but they baulked at the finish line against the Rajasthan Royals. Unless they win their last three matches that defeat looks like it could come back to haunt them.
Punjab desperately need to find a batting line up they can rely on. They have failed to put 140 on the board in the last two matches and although a lot of that is down to the pitches, they can’t really expect to win three straight matches if they don’t put up better scores. Chris Gayle has left the tournament so they are going to have to make at least one change here. That gives them the chance to balance their order a little better without having to shoehorn Gayle in.
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Key Men
Nitish Rana guided the Kolkata Knight Riders home in their last match and as one of the class acts in this Knight Riders batting unit if they keep him in form for the next fortnight they could not only make the playoffs but go close to the title.
Aidan Markram has been recruited by the Punjab Kings for the second leg of this tournament and they could do with the South African converting the starts he has got so far into significant scores. His off spin might come in handy as well.
Betting
I fancy the boundaries to flow in this match. I say that largely because of the style that the Kolkata Knight Riders have adopted for this second leg of the tournament. It is very much an ‘everything must go’ approach in the hope that a couple of players come off and get them up to a score which looks a little daunting. It has worked for them in the main and there is no reason why it will suddenly not work now.
They could be missing a key bowler in Lockie Ferguson though which will make their attack a little less effective. The other reason why I like the boundaries here is because the Punjab Kings have to win so they might be prepared to take a couple more risks than before in order to give themselves the best chance of winning. The pitch in Dubai has probably been the best of the three so the 37.5 boundaries line looks one or two too low to me.
Tips
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