KKR vs PBKS Dream11 Prediction Today | Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing XI, Pitch Report – IPL 2025, 44th Match

Match Preview

This is a crucial game for Kolkata Knight Riders if they are to maintain a push towards qualifying for the play-off rounds of fixtures. They will be at home, but will need a better performance after a home loss to Gujarat Titans.

Punjab Kings will come into the match with a different perspective. They lost to fellow play-off contenders Royal Challengers Bangalore, but will want to get back into the race for sealing a spot in the top four.

This match should be higher scoring than the previous match between them where only just over 200 runs were scored across both sides.

Team Stats

Kolkata Knight Riders	Vs	Punjab Kings
10	Matches Played	10
50%	Win	60%
151	Average Score	176
234	Highest Score	245
95	Lowest Score	98

Head to Head Record

Teams	Matches Won
Kolkata Knight Riders	5
Punjab Kings	5

Probable Playing XI

Kolkata Knight Riders Expected Playing 11

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy

Punjab Kings Expected Playing 11

Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Also Check: KKR vs PBKS Match Prediction

Injuries & Illnesses

Vaibhav Arora was a worry for the Knight Riders’ game against Gujarat Titans, but recovered in time to play that match. The physio may still carefully monitor his fitness

Pitch Report & Weather Conditions

The average first innings score at Eden Gardens for this IPL is 202, proving that there should be a run-feast in this encounter. The warm climate on the day will only accentuate the favourable batting conditions, but may bring the spinners into play with the dryness of the pitch.

KKR vs PBKS Dream11 Top Picks

Wicketkeeper

Both wicketkeeper-batters will have the affinity to Asian batting conditions to produce significant innings. The Afghan opening batter Gurbaz has over 5000 T20 runs together with two centuries in the format. Local boy Singh made a score of 33 runs against RCB and hit 30 runs versus KKR previously.

Batters

Ajinkya Rahane is one of the few Kolkata batters currently in form. He has raced to three half-centuries in eight innings this year. Priyansh Arya’s biggest asset will be his daunting strike rate of over 200, while also achieving a century in his debut IPL season. Venkatesh Iyer has more potential than he’s shown up until now. The left-handed batter has scores of 60 against SRH and 45 against LSG this season.

All Rounders

Sunil Narine’s T20 record of one century, 17 half-centuries, 12 four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul should speak for itself. Australian Marcus Stoinis is brutal with bat in hand, while handy as one of the later bowling options. He has 1933 IPL runs and 43 IPL wickets.

Bowlers

Young Harshit Rana has moved swiftly along in the wickets column this season. His current form reads nine wickets in the five games prior. Left-armer Arshdeep Singh brings a variation of angle, but brings a quality wicket-taking option to the party too. He has two four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul in the IPL. Varun Chakravarthy has the pleasure of bowling on familiar territory. He has been consistent this year with taking two or more wickets in a game in half of his innings.

KKR vs PBKS Captain and Vice-Captain Choices

Captain

Ajinkya Rahane has been a steady workhorse for the home team. He has produced 271 runs over his last eight IPL innings and will be playing on his home pitch for this match.

Vice-Captain

Varun Chakravarthy is potentially one of the safer choices here because of his ability to regularly take clusters of wickets. He will enjoy bowling against Punjab after taking two wickets against them the last time he played against them.

KKR vs PBKS Team Head-to-Head Contests

KKR vs PBKS Dream11 Team Mega Contests

KKR vs PBKS Team Expert Advice

Both teams had a rocky ride on the batting front in Mullanpur. This surface will be friendlier to the batters with team scores over 200 being commonplace. Both batting lineups only have a handful of batters who can take the game deep. There are a number of players capable of short and sharp cameos.

The spin-bowling should be covered by the Indian internationals in both squads, while the pace bowling features a number of established overseas players with the current and future generations of Indian international stars.

Notable Stats

Most Fantasy Points

Sunil Narine with 623 Dream11 fantasy points is the leader

Most Runs

Ajinkya Rahane leads the run-scoring charts with 271 runs

Most Wickets

The wickets tally has two youngsters in the form of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana at the top with 11 wickets each

Most Sixes

Shreyas Iyer has sent the ball directly over the boundary on 20 instances

Best Strike Rate

Having made an impact from the outset, Priyansh Arya’s strike rate of 201.59 continues to intimidate opposition bowlers

Best Economy

Moeen Ali has the best economy rate at 6.36. Varun Chakravarthy with his economy rate of 6.48 is not to too far behind