The 53rd match of the ongoing 16th season of the Indian Premier League will take place between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings tomorrow, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
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PBKS were humbled by the mighty Mumbai Indians batting line-up during their previous match of the season in Mohali. Despite posting a challenging score of 214/3 batting first, the Indians chased down the total with seven deliveries to spare.
They are slightly better placed than KKR as far as the points table is concerned, but one more loss might place them under the must-win territory.
KKR, on the other hand, are placed one spot below Punjab in the points table (8th), and might as well have to win all their remaining four matches in order to qualify for the playoffs.
The bowlers saved their ship last time around against Sunrisers Hyderabad, defending 38 runs off the final five Overs to hand them some breathing space, but will have to continue finding ways to get over the line with the top-order yet to perform in the desired manner.
Eden Gardens Pitch Report for KOL vs PBKS IPL 2023 Match
Expect another high-scoring encounter at the Eden Gardens tomorrow, with the pitch likely to be a batting paradise. During the previous match at this venue, KKR skipper Nitish Rana admitted to have been 20-25 runs short after his team posted 179 runs on the scoreboard batting first.
“I think we were 20-25 runs short, up against top teams, we can’t be this sloppy with the bat. We didn’t get partnerships developing, other than Gurbaz and Russell, no one else, including me, scored,” remarked Rana after GT chased their score down with 13 deliveries to spare.
Across the four IPL 2023 matches here so far, the average score posted by teams has been 198 runs. In fact, two of the top-3 highest team totals this season have arrived at this venue. Thus, one can expect another 200+ game tomorrow in Kolkata.
