IPL 2021, KKR vs PBKS: Today match players list & umpires

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will begin as favorites when they face the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 45 of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) in Dubai on Friday.

KKR are currently on 10 points from 11 matches, the same as the Mumbai Indians (MI). A win against PBKS will strengthen their chances of making the playoffs. As for Punjab, they have registered eight points from 11 matches and cannot afford to lose another game to stay in serious contention for finishing in the top four.

In their previous match, KKR put up a fighting show against the fancied Delhi Capitals (DC) and came up trumps. They would have gained a lot of confidence from the win. PBKS went down to MI, following a shoddy show with the bat.

Also Check: IPL Live Score | IPL Points Table | IPL Schedule

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KKR vs PBKS - Today Match Playing XI

KKR playing XI: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Tim Seifert, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy

PBKS playing XI: KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Nathan Ellis, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh

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KKR vs PBKS - Full squads

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

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

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KKR vs PBKS - Today IPL Match umpires

On-field Umpires: Richard Illingworth, K. Ananthapadmanabhan

Third Umpire: Anil Dandekar

Match Referee: Manu Nayar

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KKR vs PBKS: Who won the toss in today's IPL match?

PBKS have won the toss and have opted to field. There are a few changes in the PBKS XI. Since Chris Gayle has left, Fabian Allen comes in. Mayank Agarwal is back in place of Mandeep Singh, while Shahrukh Khan in coming for Harpreet Brar.

Explaining his decision to bowl first, PBKS skipper KL Rahul said:

"Tricky to bat first here maybe. You don't know if 150 will be good or 180. So better to ask the opposition to set that up."

On the other hand, Tim Seifert will be making debut for KKR, replacing Lockie Ferguson. Shivam Mavi comes in for Sandeep Warrier.