Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings IPL 2024 prediction: Match win, Dream11 and toss

• Match Prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders to win
• Toss prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders to win the toss and field first

Here is our KKR vs PBKS prediction for the 42nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 between Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings. The two will lock horns for the first time this season at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday, April 26.

Read on for our detailed KKR vs PBKS predictions ahead of this match.

• Date and time: April 26, 7:30 PM IST
• Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Every captain of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL: List of all KKR skippers

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings match preview

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders are sitting at the second spot on the IPL 2024 points table with 10 points and a net run-rate of 1.206. They have played seven games, winning five and losing two. In their previous game, they escaped with a 1-run victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru. 

Batting first, Phil Salt got them off to a flying start with 48 off just 14 whereas Shreyas Iyer scored a 50 off 36 balls. Ramandeep Singh smashed 24* in 9 balls as they posted 222 in 20 overs. Andre Russell starred with the ball, picking 3 for 25 in three overs while Sunil Narine and Harshit Rana bagged two scalps each. Mitchell Starc conceded three sixes in the final over but managed to defend 3 off 2. 

KKR possible XI: Phil Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy

Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings haven't had desired results as they linger at ninth place with just four points. They have won only two games and have lost six. They have lost several close finishes, most recently losing to Gujarat Titans by three wickets. 

Batting first, Prabhsimran Singh made 35 off 21 at the top of the order whereas Harpreet Brar smashed 29 off 12 down the order. But the big guns failed as they were bowled out for 142. PBKS made a match out of it with Harshal Patel picking 3 for 15 and Liam Livingstone snaring 2 for 19 but eventually they lost with five balls to spare. 

PBKS possible XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran, Rilee Rossouw, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh

Pitch and expected weather conditions

Eden Gardens in Kolkata has produced pitches where batters have dominated the proceedings and bowlers haven't had much to work with. The average batting first score at the venue since the beginning of the previous IPL season stands at 196. As for the last two games, there have been over 220 runs scored in each of the four innings.

The forecast suggests that Kolkata should witness very warm and humid weather on Friday evening. The match will not have any threat of rain while the temperature will range between 27-32 degree Celsius during the evening.

KKR vs PBKS Dream11 prediction

Our KKR vs PBKS Dream11 prediction for this match

• Wicketkeeper(s): Phil Salt, Prabhsimran Singh 
• Batter(s): Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Shashank Singh 
• All-rounder(s): Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone 
• Bowler(s): Varun Chakravarthy, Harshal Patel 
• Recommended captain: Sunil Narine 
• Recommended vice-captain: Sam Curran 

In this part of the KKR vs PBKS match prediction, we will discuss why we have opted to go with the above XI for the Dream11 contest. Eden Gardens is a high-scoring ground and for that reason, we have packed the side with batters and all-rounders. 

Among wicket-keepers, Phil Salt has been in great form while Prabhsimran Singh has looked good in a few cameos. Shreyas Iyer and Shashank Singh have been amongst runs and should be picked. Shikhar Dhawan is likely to return for this game after an injury and can't be left out. 

In the all-rounders section, we have Andre Russell, Sam Curran, Sunil Narine and Liam Livingstone. All four are valuable assets and must be picked. Among bowlers, Varun Chakravarthy is a no-brainer while Kagiso Rabada could be key here with his pace. 

As for C and VC, we have gone with the two most popular options in Sunil Narine and Sam Curran. Narine has scored 286 runs and picked 9 wickets in the season whereas Curran has taken 11 wickets and made 152 runs. 

Match prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders to win

The head to head record between these teams is pretty lopsided with Kolkata Knight Riders winning 21 games as opposed to 11 by Punjab Kings. Looking at their current form, KKR seem to have an edge heading into the game. They have an in-form batting unit, comprising Sunil Narine, Phil Salt, Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Andre Russell. KKR also have excellent spinners in Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. Punjab Kings have struggled in the batting department consistently. Our match prediction is for Kolkata Knight Riders to win. 

Toss prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders to win the toss and field first

Eden Gardens is a venue where the chasing side has had a bit more success. The combination of flat pitches and dew factor makes batting second easier. A total of 28 games have been hosted here in the IPL since 2018, of which the team batting second has won 15. Our toss prediction is that Kolkata Knight Riders will win the toss and opt to field first. 

Man of the match prediction: Sunil Narine 

Sunil Narine has been making a big impact for Kolkata Knight Riders with bat and ball in this season. He has scored 286 runs in the ongoing tournament at an average of 41 while striking at 176. The left-hand batter hammered a blistering century versus Rajasthan Royals recently. Narine has also done well with the ball, picking nine wickets at an economy of 7.10. He is KKR's only bowler to concede at less than 9 rpo this season. 

Betting Odds

• Kolkata Knight Riders: 1.59 (PARIMATCH)
• Punjab Kings: 2.36 (PARIMATCH)

As per the bookmakers, Kolkata Knight Riders are favourites ahead of this game. KKR have 1.59 odds of winning this match whereas PBKS have much higher odds of 2.36.