On Monday, May 8 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, match 53 of the IPL 2023 would pit Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Both sides will want to maintain their chances of making the playoffs. Nitish Rana’s KKR will try to continue its winning ways after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad, while Shikhar Dhawan’s PBKS will try to recover from a recent loss to the Mumbai Indians.
In the reverse match, PBKS reached 191 with Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s fifty and a few cameos, while KKR was held to 146/7 by Arshdeep Singh’s early burst before play was suspended by rain and the match ended up won by the hosts by 7 runs (DLS Method). Check complete details on KKR vs PBKS head-to-head records.
Kolkata Knight Riders
After defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by a margin of five runs, Kolkata Knight Riders will enter the match. KKR is presently ranked eighth in the IPL points table with a net run rate (NRR) of -0.103 after winning four and losing six of their ten games.
Their go-to batsman has been Rinku Singh, who has amassed 316 runs in 10 games while averaging 52.66 and a fantastic strike rate of 148.35. Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana, meanwhile, have amassed 303 and 275 runs, respectively. The KKR will look to keep up their winning streak.
Punjab Kings
The Punjab Kings will enter the match with a loss against the five-time champion Mumbai Indians. PBKS is currently ranked seventh in the IPL Points table with a net run rate (NRR) of -0.472 after winning five games and dropping as many.
Shikhar Dhawan has been their top batsman, scoring 292 runs in seven games at an impressive strike rate of 148.97 while averaging 58.40, while Prabhsimran Singh has managed to score 219 runs. PBKS will try to win in order to maintain their chances of qualifying.
Head-to-Head IPL 2023 Record of KKR vs PBKS
The two sides have played each other 31 times in the IPL, with KKR definitely being the superior team as they have defeated Punjab Kings 20 times to 11 for the latter.
Total – 31
KKR – 20
PBKS – 11
List of matches played between KKR and PBKS since IPL 2008
| Date | Winner | Won By | Venue |
| 4-Apr-2023 | Punjab Kings | 7 Runs | Mohali |
| 1-Apr-2022 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 6 Wickets | Mumbai |
| 44470 | Punjab Kings | 5 Wickets | Dubai |
| 26-Apr-2021 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 5 Wickets | Ahmedabad |
| 26-Oct-2020 | Punjab Kings | 8 Wickets | Sharjah |
| 10-Oct-2020 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 2 Runs | Abu Dhabi |
| 3-May-2019 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 7 Wickets | Mohali |
| 27-Mar-2019 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 28 Runs | Kolkata |
| 12-May-2018 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 31 Runs | Indore |
| 21-Apr-2018 | Punjab Kings | 9 Wickets | Kolkata |
| 9-May-2017 | Punjab Kings | 14 Runs | Mohali |
| 13-Apr-2017 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 8 Wickets | Kolkata |
| 4-May-2016 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 7 Runs | Kolkata |
| 19-Apr-2016 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 6 Wickets | Mohali |
| 9-May-2015 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 1 Wicket | Kolkata |
| 18-Apr-2015 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 4 Wickets | Pune |
| 1-June-2014 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 3 Wickets | Bangalore |
| 28-May-2014 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 28 Runs | Kolkata |
| 11-May-2014 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 9 Wickets | Cuttack |
| 26-Apr-2014 | Punjab Kings | 23 Runs | Abu Dhabi |
| 26-Apr-2013 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 6 Wickets | Kolkata |
| 16-Apr-2013 | Punjab Kings | 4 Runs | Mohali |
| 18-Apr-2012 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 8 Wickets | Mohali |
| 15-Apr-2012 | Punjab Kings | 2 Runs | Kolkata |
| 30-April-2011 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 8 Wickets | Kolkata |
| 4-April-2010 | Punjab Kings | 8 Wickets | Kolkata |
| 27-Mar-2010 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 39 Runs | Mohali |
| 3-May-2009 | Punjab Kings | 6 Wickets | Port Elizabeth |
| 21-Apr-2009 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 11 Runs | Durban |
| 25-May-2008 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 3 Wickets | Kolkata |
| 3-May-2008 | Punjab Kings | 9 Runs | Mohali |
Most runs in KKR vs PBKS fixtures
Gautam Gambhir (KKR) – 492 runs
Most wickets in KKR vs PBKS fixtures
Sunil Narine (KKR) – 32 wickets
Squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders
Squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Anukul Roy, Suyash Sharma, N Jagadeesan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Mandeep Singh, Tim Southee, David Wiese, Umesh Yadav, Aarya Desai
Punjab Kings
Squad: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan(c), Matthew Short, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sikandar Raza, Atharva Taide, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Baltej Singh, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Gurnoor Brar
