All eyes will be on Shreyas Iyer when Kolkata Knight Riders host Punjab Kings in a high-profile IPL 2025 match at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Saturday. Iyer is returning to the iconic venue he called home 12 months ago and facing the team he led to title glory in the 2024 edition. The right-handed batter is now leading the charge for play-off contenders Punjab Kings, who are fifth in the points table with five wins in eight matches.
Iyer, who helped The Purple and Golden Army end their decade-long trophy wait, will be busy plotting the downfall of play-off hopefuls and an inconsistent Kolkata side.
With just three wins in eight games, the defending champions have endured a rocky start to their title defence. The three-time IPL winners urgently need to arrest the slide to keep their top-four hopes alive.
The surprise decision not to retain their title-winning captain and appoint Ajinkya Rahane as the skipper for the ongoing edition is proving to be a disaster for the Knight Riders.
Iyer’s revenge match: A crucial encounter for Punjab Kings
Unfazed by the shocking snub, Iyer has found both a purpose at Punjab Kings. Joining hands with his former Delhi Capitals mentor Ricky Ponting, Iyer has led the Kings’ charge brilliantly. Iyer has led from the front with three half-centuries so far, amassing 263 in eight matches. However, he comes into the KKR game on the back of three single-digit scores.
The game against his former team presents a great opportunity for Iyer to make a big statement, similar to what KL Rahul recently did against his former franchise, Lucknow Super Giants, with an unbeaten half-century.
KKR’s struggles: Can they turn things around against Punjab?
Meanwhile, KKR are in desperate search of momentum and consistency. Sitting seventh, Kolkata can barely afford another loss, which could tighten their road to the playoffs.
From batting to bowling, nothing has worked for the three-time champions this season. ineffective on a surface they once called their fortress.
The wounds of a damaging defeat against the same outfit will still be fresh, but there is no point in looking back for KKR, who were bowled out for 95 all out courtesy of a sensational spell of spin bowling by Yuzvendra Chahal.
KKR’s home record of one win from four games is a clear reflection of their struggles and inconsistency.
Squads
KKR: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Spencer Johnson, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Chetan Sakariya.
PBKS: Shreyas Iyer (c), Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Kuldeep Sen, Pyla Avinash, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan, Harnoor Pannu, Aaron Hardie, Priyansh Arya, Azmatullah Omarzai.
Shreyas Iyer returns to Eden Gardens, leading Punjab Kings against his former team, Kolkata Knight Riders, in a crucial IPL 2025 match. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
