Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 44th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The match will be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on 26 April 2025 at 07:30 PM IST. Kolkata Knight Riders In their last match at Eden Gardens, the Kolkata Knight Riders are coming off a heartbreaking 39-run defeat against the table-toppers, Gujarat Titans. Before this defeat, Ajinkya Rahane's side had lost to Punjab Kings in an away clash. Currently, KKR is struggling badly with their form and consistency. Neither their batters are stepping up at the crucial moment, nor does the team need them the most, nor are their bowlers scalping regular wickets. In the last match against GT, except for Ajinkya Rahane, no other batter stood up with their bat, and the team fell short at the crunch moment. In 8 matches, they have registered just three victories and sit at the 7th spot in the points table. Punjab Kings Punjab Kings are currently placed at the fifth spot, just outside the top-4 with 10 points. They will have a fair chance to move to the top four when they face the Kolkata Knight Riders in their next assignment. They defeated them in the first matchup, however, they would be eager to repeat the same performance here in Kolkata as well. They were thrashed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their last match by 7 wickets. Shreyas Iyer led side has done fairly well this season, and they will be eying their spot in the top four with each game moving forward. Pitch Report The surface at Eden Gardens offers a mix of wickets that can be helpful for batters and bowlers as well, this season especially. The average first innings total this season in IPL 2025 is 202, which means the surface will surely favour the batters, but spinners and medium pacers are also likely to get good assistance from the surface. The surface brings good bounce for the pacer, which becomes tricky to play sometimes, but easy to pick the shot in the middle. KKR vs PBKS Head-to-Head at Eden Gardens KKR vs PBKS head-to-head at Eden Gardens Matches Played 13 Won by Kolkata Knight Riders 9 Won by Punjab Kings 4 No Result 0 Tied 0 Probable XI Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Moeen Ali, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy (Impact Subs: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia) Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (c), Harpreet Brar, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Nehal Wadhera, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Priyansh Arya. (Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Harnoor Singh, Praveen Dubey) Must-Pick Players for KKR vs PBKS Top Wicketkeeper to Pick Prabhsimran Singh | PBKS: Prabhsimran Singh has played 8 matches this season so far and has scored 209 runs; he has been performing brilliantly so far. He scored 30 runs from just 15 deliveries against KKR in their first matchup, he will look to repeat an even better performance this time. Top Batters to Pick Ajinkya Rahane | KKR: The skipper of KKR has been performing consistently for his team this season so far. In 8 matches, he has scored 271 runs, including a half-century knock against GT in the last match. He would be eager to continue his aggressive style of cricket in this match. Priyansh Arya | PBKS: Priyansh Arya has played 8 matches and has scored 254 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 201.59 this season. His form might have dipped a bit after his debut century against CSK, but he will be eager to return in his vintage, aggressive form. Top All-Rounders to Pick Sunil Narine | KKR: Sunil Narine has been playing a crucial role as an all-rounder for his team in yet another IPL season. He has taken 7 wickets so far and has already scored 147 runs this season while opening. He is a must-have player for your fantasy XI. Marco Jansen | PBKS: Marco Jansen has batted in 5 matches this season where he has amassed 68 runs including a much-needed 25* run knock in the last match against RCB in the last match. He has also taken 8 wickets this season, including his best bowling figure of 3-17 that came against KKR in the first matchup. Top Bowlers to Pick Varun Chakravarthy | KKR: Varun Chakravarthy has played 8 matches this season and has taken 10 wickets so far. He has been featured in 79 IPL matches in which he has taken 93 wickets in his career overall, including a best figure of 5 for 20 runs. He took two wickets in the last-to-last match against PBKS. Yuzvendra Chahal | PBKS: Yuzvendra Chahal registered his best bowling figure of IPL 2025 with 4 for 28 against KKR in the first matchup. He has taken 9 wickets in 8 matches and would be eager to register a few more wickets here.