KOLKATA, APRIL 6, 20206:Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) face off against Punjab Kings (PBKS) today, 6th April, for the 12th match of the IPL 2026 season at KKR’s home ground, Eden Gardens Stadium, Kolkata, at 7:30 PM. Both teams have played two matches in this season so far. PBKS have successfully won both matches (one against DC and another against CSK), while KKR has suffered back-to-back losses (one against MI and another against SRH).
KKR has been impacted by several injuries to their main pace bowlers (like Matheesha Pathirana and Harhit Rana) before the IPL started, which has significantly affected their pace attack. Although they have other pace bowlers like Vaibhav Arora, Blessing Muzarabani, and Kartik Tyagi, they are not very experienced and could not make much impact in the two matches. In these circumstances, the team has relied on their famous spin duo, Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, but both have been out of form, which has created a big gap in KKR’s bowling strength. In the first match, KKR struggled with their bowling, but in the second match, they showed a better performance, although they were unable to chase 226 due to quick wickets falling. The team needs improvement in both departments to bounce back from this setback.
On the other hand, last year’s runners-up PBKS have begun the season strongly and confidently, performing well in both batting and bowling. In their last match, they chased 210 runs with apparent ease, showcasing their strong form. PBKS currently have 4 points, while KKR has 0.
PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer, the former skipper who led the team in 2024 to win the IPL title after 10 years, joined PBKS in the 2025 mega auction after being released by KKR. Under his leadership, PBKS reached the final last season. Meanwhile, KKR appointed Ajinkya Rahane as captain. KKR, the defending champions in 2024, ended last season in 8th position with mostly the same squad as 2024.In
IPL history, both teams have played 35 matches against each other. KKR won 21, PBKS 13, with 1 match ending with no result. PBKS also hold the record for the highest successful run chase in IPL history, scoring 262 runs against KKR on 26th April 2024.
Regarding KKR’s current bowling situation, Tim Southee spoke in a press conference on Sunday, 5th April, saying: “It’s certainly a long tournament, two games in. With the setbacks with the bowlers we’ve been unable to have, it presents opportunities for other guys. We’re still excited about the bowling group we’ve got. They’re inexperienced but have a tremendous amount of skill. We’ve seen it in glimpses in the first two games. It’s our job to get a little bit more consistency out of them. Although the first two games haven’t gone to plan, I’m sure they will show how skilful and how good they can be at this level throughout the tournament.” He also confirmed that Cameron Green (who is not bowling due to injury) is recovering well, has resumed bowling in the nets, and is close to returning as an all-rounder.
KKR Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Rovman Powell, Anukul Roy, Cameron Green, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra, Rachin Ravindra, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Blessing Muzarabani, Vaibhav Arora, Matheesha Pathirana, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Saurabh Dubey, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Varun Chakravarthy.
Predicted Playing XI (KKR): Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani.
PBKS Squad: Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod, Harnoor Pannu, Pyla Avinash, Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Harpreet Brar, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Priyansh Arya, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad, Lockie Ferguson.
Predicted Playing XI (PBKS): Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly/Nehal Wadhera, Shreyas Iyer (C), Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
In Kolkata, the weather is expected to play an important role. There is a moderate to high chance of rain, especially during the evening match hours, with forecasts suggesting possible thunderstorms (Kalbaishakhi). The weather throughout the day is expected to be unstable. In the morning and afternoon, conditions will be partly cloudy with hazy sunshine, with temperatures rising to around 34–36°C and high humidity. Rain probability could increase during match time, which means delays or interruptions are quite likely. While a complete washout is possible in the worst case, the excellent drainage system at Eden Gardens gives hope that even if rain occurs, the game could resume after short breaks. Overall, a full uninterrupted 20-over match looks uncertain, and a shortened game is a realistic possibility. Both teams also missed their practice match due to rain on Sunday, 5th April. The pitch is likely to start slightly moist due to possible rain, helping fast bowlers early. As the game progresses, it may become slow and tricky, but if dew comes in later, batting could get easier in the second innings. It will be interesting to see how KKR bounces back in this match, how PBKS carries their positive momentum, and also how Shreyas Iyer performs against his former franchise.
