IPL 2025 | Knight Riders eager to revive their campaign against Kings

KKR aims to overcome batting struggles against PBKS to revive IPL campaign, while PBKS seeks sixth victory.

It’s high time Kolkata Knight Riders shook off its batting woes in order to get its Indian Premier League campaign back on track. More than avenging its defeat, defending champion KKR, struggling with just three wins in eight matches, will be eager to arrest the slide and lift its morale when it meets Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday.

KKR has lost two games on the trot, including the last one against Gujarat Titans at the Eden, primarily due to the batters’ poor show.

The host will hope that apart from captain Ajinkya Rahane (271 runs) and youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi (197), other batters, including Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh, also shine on a flat track.

KKR may think of replacing a misfiring Andre Russell with fellow Caribbean Rovman Powell. But striking the right balance will take priority over other factors.

The KKR bowlers, including pacers Harshit Rana (11 wickets) and Vaibhav Arora (9) and spinners Varun Chakaravarthy (10) and Sunil Narine (7), have done a decent job.

After its defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, PBKS, led by former KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer, will be keen to bounce back and record its sixth victory. Its batting, comprising Shreyas (263), rookie Priyansh Arya (254), Prabhsimran Singh (209) and Nehal Wadhera (189), has served the side well.

Despite its limited resources, the PBKS bowling attack consisting of Arshdeep Singh (11), Yuzvendra Chahal (9) and Marco Jansen (8) has helped the team record crucial victories.