IPL 2022: Kolkata Knight Riders win toss, elect to bowl vs Punjab Kings

Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and opted to bowl against Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League game at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Friday.

Shreyas Iyer-led KKR opened their season with a win against the Chennai Super Kings. However, the team lost the second game against Faf du Plessis’ Royal Challengers Bangalore.

“We’re going to bowl first. The reason is obviously the swimming pool (of dew) that’s visible in the evenings. As I said last game, it’s about giving it your all to defend no matter what score you have on the board. All the players are dedicated and focused to perform their roles for the last two games. We can’t complain (about having three games in a week), we’re all professionals,” Shreyas Iyer said after winning the toss. 

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Punjab Kings, on the other hand, managed to chase down 206 to defeat RCB by five wickets in their opener. 

South Africa speedster Kagiso Rabada will be making his debut for Punjab against KKR after completing his three-day quarantine.

“We need to start well, assess the conditions early and bat well. We’re just looking to play with the right attitude and right energy, if we do that, the results will take care of themselves,” Punjab skipper Mayank Agarwal said after losing the toss.

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Here are the playing XI for the teams – 

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Mayank Agarwal(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Bhanuka Rajapaksa(w), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Raj Bawa, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer(c), Sam Billings(w), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy