KKR vs PBKS Highlights, IPL 2021: Rahul's 67, Arshdeep and Shahrukh guide Punjab to 5-wicket win over Kolkata

KL Rahul, skipper of Punjab Kings, has won the toss and elected to bowl.

In three minutes time, we will have the coin toss. Which team and captain will the coin favour today?

“Yes, all fitness issues are resolved. Just had a stiff neck in the last game, so I had to miss out. We all know Gayle is a big player, big presence but we respect the decision he's taken and back him 100 percent. A lot of credit should go to them (bowlers), the way they have stood up and performed for us, they have really worked hard and it is paying off. Credit to them for the effort they put in and the courage they show in executing their skills. The situation we are in, we have to fight and fight hard, just talking in the dressing room will not help but we have to go out in the middle and execute. That's what I think we need to do, we need to find ways (to win), play hard and keep fighting.”

"It's the same surface that we played two nights ago and it looks magnificent. The ground staff have done a terrific job, nice grass covering and the surface is very hard. Three times the team batting first have won, three times the team bowling first has won. The average score is 159, there are no demons and the batters can trust this surface. From a bowling point of view, you have to get your length right"

-Kevin Pietersen and Simon Doull on Star Sports

"My life has been the same since the IPL, we are Punjabis and enjoy life. I am enjoying the opportunities and the challenges that I am faced with. It would have been nicer had the results been in our favour. We are just not able to finish games. We play well for 30-35 overs but we haven't been able to kill games. We aren't discussing the qualification, and are taking it one match at a time by giving our 100%. The West Indian culture is also similar to the Punjabi culture, and they also enjoy life, which is why the bubble life hasn't been boring.

[KKR | PBKS]

Top run-scorers: Andre Russell - 261 Runs | KL Rahul - 250 Runs

Highest score in an innings: 75 By Sunil Narine On May 12, 2018 | 74 By KL Rahul On Oct 10, 2020

Most wickets: Sunil Narine - 30 Wickets | Mohammed Shami - 7 Wickets

BBM: 5/19 By Sunil Narine On Apr 15, 2012 | 3/35 By Mohammed Shami On Oct 26, 2020

"With the position we were at the end of the first half, it was important that we regroup. I don't think we clicked the way we wanted in the first half, but we're doing so here. Hopefully, we will continue playing in this way and win more games. My batting has been good, but I need to convert the starts into bigger knocks. but it does happen in T20s. At the moment I'm happy with the way I'm batting. We are giving good starts for the team at the top of the order. We got a lot of confidence after getting a team like RCB all-out for a small score and then the way we chased it down. I think we're doing well in all the three departments of the game."

KL Rahul (c), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Moises Henriques, Nathan Ellis, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi

Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell / Tim Southee, Sandeep Warrier, Lockie Ferguson

KL Rahul(w/c), Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Moises Henriques, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Jalaj Saxena, Murugan Ashwin, Sarfaraz Khan, Fabian Allen, Shahrukh Khan, Saurabh Kumar, Ishan Porel, Utkarsh Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Prabhsimran Singh

Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan(c), Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w), Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Sandeep Warrier, Varun Chakaravarthy, Prasidh Krishna, Andre Russell, Harbhajan Singh, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Cutting, Karun Nair, Pawan Negi, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert, Rinku Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Vaibhav Arora

KKR won by 5 wickets(IPL 2021, Match 21)

PBKS won by 8 wickets (IPL 2020, Match 46)

KKR won by 2 runs (IPL 2020, Match 24)

KKR won by 7 wickets (IPL 2019, Match 52)

KKR won by 8 runs (IPL 2019, Match 6)

vs MI: Lost by 6 wicekts

vs SRH: Won by 5 runs

vs RR: Lost by 2 runs

vs DC: Lost by 7 wickets

vs RCB: Won by 34 runs

vs DC: Won by 3 wickets

vs CSK: Lost by 2 wickets

vs MI: Won by 7 wickets

vs RCB: Won by 9 wickets

vs DC: Lost by 7 wickets

Highest Total Chased: 201 On Apr 04, 2010

Lowest Total Defended: 132 On Apr 26, 2014

Highest Total Chased: 200 On Jun 01, 2014 

Lowest Total Defended: 163 On May 28, 2014

The last time these teams met, KKR romped home to a five-wicket win. Courtesy of a three-wicket haul from Prasidh Krishna and two wickets each for Sunil Narine and Pat Cummins, PBKS were restricted to 123/9 in 20 overs. In response, Rahul Tripathi's 41 and Morgan's unbeaten helped guided KKR to the win.

KKR vs PBKS means two excellent white-ball players come face to face. KKR captain Morgan and PBKS skipper Rahul continue to remain a key part of their respective batting units. While Rahul has spearheaded the charge with 422 runs in 10 matches, Morgan has struggled; scoring just 107 in 11 matches

While Kolkata Knight Riders are barely holding a place in thetop half of the table, Punjab Kings are currently placed in the bottom half of the table.

KKR- 4th position (P-11 | W-5 | L-6 | Points-10)

PBKS- 6th position (P-11 | W-4 | L-7 | Points-8)

The Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings have faced each other 28 times in the IPL and the KKR have dominated the overall head-to-head with 19 wins as opposed to PBKS' 9. 

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of match 45 of IPL 2021 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) being played at the Dubai International Stadium in the UAE. Eoin's Morgan Kolkata would riding high on confidence after beating a strong Delhi Capitals (DC) side in their previous outing. On the other hand, KL Rahul's Punjab have been hit by their inconsistency and in order to strengthen their bid for a top-4 finish, they must get back to winning ways. The time is running out thick and fast but irrespective of whatever happens, you all, my lovely viewers, are bound to be entertained. So, fasten your seatbelts, sit back and enjoy the action!