Punjab Kings To Bat Against Kolkata Knight Riders; Powell, Sakariya Come In As KKR Aim Revenge Over Shreyas Iyer-Led PBKS

IPL 2025: Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) won the toss and decided to bat against Ajinkya Rahane's Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 44th match of the Indian Premier League ( IPL ) 2025, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Saturday, April 26th. 

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane confirmed that Caribbean middle-order batter Rovman Powell and Indian bowler Chetan Sakariya are set to make their IPL 2025 debut. On the other hand, Punjab  Kings made two changes in the playing eleven, adding Glenn Maxwell and Azmatullah Omarzai. 

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KKR Aim Revenge Against PBKS

It's a must-win match for the Knight Riders as they aim to qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs. KKR hold the seventh place on the standings with six points and have six points with a net run rate of +0.212. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings stand in the fifth place on the table with 10 points and have a net run rate of +0.177.

ALSO READ: Rovman Powell Set For KKR Debut Against PBKS At Eden Gardens, Coach Abhishek Nayar Presents The Cap

Captain Ajinkya Rahane Hits Out At KKR Batters

While speaking at the time of toss, Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer said that the Eden Gardens' pitch is similar to that of Mullanpur.

"Since we are playing on the same wicket they played on. Can see a few cracks, will get an idea on how its playing. It's always been great to play in front of this crowd. Another day to come here and embrace. We have been getting brilliant starts... Maxwell and Omarzai come in," Iyer said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Ajinkya Rahane hits out at the batters and said that they are performing poorly in the ongoing season. He also confirmed that Ramandeep Singh has been dropped and Chetan Sakariya has made his way into the squad. Rahane further added that Rovman Powell has been added in place of Moeen Ali.

"...The boys have disappointed with the bat, but need to be brave in this format. Our batting unit needs to do well in this game. We have been playing good cricket in patches. It's all about living in the moment and need to be positive. Powell comes in Moeen and Sakariya comes in for Ramandeep," Rahane said.

Punjab Kings - Playing XI: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (C), Josh Inglis (Wk), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Kolkata Knight Riders - Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.