For Match 8 of IPL 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders will meet Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Friday evening. Both sides comprise a spate of power-hitters and bat with the gung-ho approach, showcased in their last matches.
After winning their first game against CSK, KKR were lost to RCB in a low-scoring thriller. However, KKR head coach Brendon McCullum was satisfied by the intent of his batsmen, who were looking to attack and rattle the bowlers, not afraid to risk their wickets, irrespective of the regular fall of wickets.
The Punjab Kings, who have now emerged a strong playoff contender just after one game, too, played a dynamic brand of cricket as they gunned down a mammoth target of 206 runs against RCB, with an entire over to spare.
Venue: Wankhede Stadium
Two matches have been played so far at the Wankhede and both have had a similar script: fast bowlers getting wickets with the new ball, and the chasing team winning both contests as dew makes their job easier
IPL 2022: KKR team news and predicted XI
Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch will continue to be a miss for the Knight Riders; the Aussie pair will be available to play only after April 5, adhering to Cricket Australia’s contract.
Importantly, Shreyas Iyer has a big worry at his hand now: Andre Russell’s fitness: Russell sustained a sore shoulder during the game against RCB while diving at the boundary line; he also seemed in discomfort while bowling the last over.
KKR are expected to stick with the same line-up unless Russell is unfit to play. In that case, Chamika Karunaratne or Mohammad Nabi could get a game, with the latter the favourite as Punjab has three left-handers in their top seven.
IPL 2022: KKR predicted XI
Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (c), Sam Billings, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
PBKS team news and predicted XI:
The Punjab Kings’ bowling has been given a major shot in the arm as Kagiso Rabada is available for the game and will slot in for either Harpreet Brar or Sandeep Sharma. They will, however, be without the option of choosing Nathan Ellis, Jonny Bairstow; Bairstow has landed in India and is in quarantine.
IPL 2022: PBKS predicted XI
Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Raj Bawa, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Sandeep Sharma, Rahul Chahar
