IPL 2026: Kolkata Knight Riders Face Punjab Kings at Eden Gardens

Kolkata. The 12th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will feature a clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings today. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:45 PM at Kolkata's home ground, Eden Gardens Stadium.

This is the third match of the season for both teams. Kolkata has lost both of its previous matches, while Punjab has secured victories in both. Punjab defeated Gujarat in their first match and Chennai in the second.

• Kolkata's impressive record against Punjab

Kolkata and Punjab have faced each other 35 times so far. Kolkata has won 21 matches, while Punjab has won 13, with one match ending in no result. The two teams have faced each other 14 times at Eden Gardens. On their home ground, Kolkata has won 9 matches and Punjab has won 4, with one match yielding no result.

• Excellent form of Angkrish and Vyshak

Several players have performed well for Kolkata this season. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has scored 103 runs in 2 matches at a strike rate of 177.58, including two half-centuries. In bowling, Blessing Muzarabani has taken 4 wickets in 2 matches, though his economy rate is 10.71.

On the other hand, Cooper Connolly has scored 108 runs for Punjab in 2 matches at an excellent strike rate of 163.63. In bowling, Vijaykumar Vyshak has played a crucial role, taking 5 wickets in just 2 matches.

• Second match of the season in Kolkata

The Eden Gardens pitch is considered very favorable for batting. Fast bowlers may get some assistance in the early stages. A total of 101 IPL matches have been played here so far, with the team batting first winning 43 and the chasing team winning 57, while one match was abandoned.

The highest score at this venue is 262/2, set by Punjab Kings against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024. In the first match held in Kolkata this season, Hyderabad batted first and scored 226 runs, in response to which Kolkata was all out for 161 runs in 16 overs.

Players to watch:

• Cameron Green

Kolkata bought Cameron Green for 25.2 crore INR, a record price for a foreign player. However, he has not bowled yet and has failed to score runs with the bat in the first two matches.

After scoring 18 runs against Mumbai, he was run out for 2 runs against Hyderabad. He has been tested at the third and fourth positions, and Kolkata hopes he will return to form soon.

• Vijaykumar Vyshak

While Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal are grabbing much of the attention, Punjab's Vijaykumar Vyshak's contribution has gone largely unnoticed. He has taken 5 wickets in two matches, 3 of which came in the death overs.

This performance is highly commendable, especially considering he only took 4 wickets at an average of 45.25 in 5 matches last season.

• Possibility of rain in Kolkata today

Monday morning in Kolkata may see light fog followed by sunshine. Although it will feel hot as the day progresses, there is a possibility of a sudden change in weather with thunderstorms and rain in the afternoon. According to AccuWeather, there is a 57% chance of rain, and the temperature will remain between 24 and 35 degrees Celsius.

Probable Playing-12 for both teams:

• Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (Wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Finn Allen.
• Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (Wicketkeeper), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Priyansh Arya.

Interesting facts and statistics:

• Yuzvendra Chahal has always dominated against Ajinkya Rahane and Rinku Singh. He has dismissed Rahane 4 times in 45 balls, conceding only 46 runs. Similarly, he has sent Rinku back to the pavilion twice in 19 balls, conceding only 15 runs.
• Prabhsimran Singh has scored runs easily against Sunil Narine. This Punjab opener has scored 29 runs off 17 balls against Narine and has not been dismissed by him yet.
• Punjab's win ratio at Eden Gardens is 0.44 (4 wins, 9 losses, 1 no result). This is Punjab's second-worst record among venues where they have played at least 10 IPL matches.