IPL 2025, Match 31: Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Match Preview

Punjab Kings will look to get back to winning ways when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Maharaja Yadavindra International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Tuesday, April 15.

These two teams played a mind-boggling match the last time they faced each other at Eden Gardens in Kolkata last year. KKR set a daunting target of 262 for PBKS. However, Jonny Bairstow's blistering century and half-centuries from Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh helped them win the match with eight wickets and as many balls to spare. This is the highest successful run chase in T20 cricket.

This year, Punjab Kings started their campaign with back-to-back wins against Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants. However, the Shreyas Iyer-led side lost their first match of the season against Rajasthan Royals. They followed it up with a win against Chennai Super Kings before having a nightmare in Mullanpur against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game.

Shreyas scored a majestic 82 off 36 balls against Hyderabad in Uppal. Priyansh Arya, Marcus Stoinis, and Prabhsimran made handy contributions as PBKS posted 245/6 after opting to bat first. However, a phenomenal 141 off 55 balls from Abhishek Sharma put the former champions in a position of strength, and they eventually won with eight wickets and nine deliveries left.

KKR, on the other hand, have played six games, winning three and losing as many. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side is yet to register back-to-back wins in IPL 2025. In their last game, they handed CSK their biggest defeat in terms of balls remaining in the IPL. After restricting the Men in Yellow to 103/9, KKR reached home with eight wickets and 59 balls intact.

Facing KKR would not be a cakewalk for Punjab Kings, especially after the mauling that Ajinkya & Co. dished out to the fans of the Chennai-based franchise.

Match Details

Pitch Report

Head-to-Head Record

Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders have played 33 matches against each other, with the former winning 12 and the latter 21. Even though statistically, KKR may have a considerable advantage over PBKS, however, the hosts, have been in good form and hence, would like to close the gap between them and KKR.

Predicted Playing 11s

Punjab Kings (PBKS)

Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (C), Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Impact Player: Yash Thakur

Check Here: IPL Points Table 2025 | Latest & Updated

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock (WK), Ajinkya Rahane (C), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy.

Impact Player: Vaibhav Arora