IPL 2025 Match 31 Preview: Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders| PBKS vs KKR


Table of Contents

  1. Match Information
  2. Match Venue & Conditions
  3. Head-to-Head Stats
  4. Overall Team Performance
  5. Recent Head-to-Head Matches
  6. Team Analysis
    • Punjab Kings (PBKS)
    • Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
  7. Probable Playing XIs
  8. Player Battles to Watch
  9. Key Stats and Milestones
  10. Venue Stats & Analysis
  11. Fantasy Cricket Tips
  12. Betting Tips
  13. Match Prediction

1. Match Information

  • Match: 31st Match, IPL 2025
  • Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
  • Time: 7:30 PM IST
  • Venue: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Mohali
  • Broadcast: Star Sports Network, JioCinema (Digital Streaming)

2. Match Venue & Conditions

  • Temperature: 35°C
  • Humidity: 34%
  • Rain Probability: 1%

Venue Stats (Mullanpur)

  • IPL Matches Played: 7
  • Batting First Won: 4 (57%)
  • Batting Second Won: 3 (43%)
  • Average 1st Innings Score: 180.14
  • Average 2nd Innings Score: 170
  • Highest Team Total: 219/6 by PBKS vs CSK (2025)
  • Lowest Team Total: 142/10 by PBKS vs GT (2024)
  • Highest Successful Chase: 177/6 by PBKS vs DC

3. Head-to-Head Stats

Matches Played: 33

  • Punjab Kings Wins: 12
  • Kolkata Knight Riders Wins: 21
  • PBKS Highest Total: 262
  • KKR Highest Total: 261
  • PBKS Lowest Total: 119
  • KKR Lowest Total: 79

Toss Stats:

  • PBKS won toss: 14 | KKR won toss: 19
  • PBKS elected to bat: 6 | Elected to field: 8
  • KKR elected to bat: 4 | Elected to field: 15

Win after Toss:

  • PBKS won toss & match: 5
    • Batting first & won: 1
    • Bowling first & won: 4
  • KKR won toss & match: 12
    • Batting first & won: 2
    • Bowling first & won: 10

Averages:

  • PBKS Avg. Runs: 162.58
  • KKR Avg. Runs: 163.88
  • PBKS Avg. Wickets: 6.24
  • KKR Avg. Wickets: 5.27

4. Overall Team Performance

Punjab Kings (PBKS)

  • Matches Played: 251
  • Wins: 114 | Losses: 136 | Tied: 1 | No Result: 0
  • Highest Total: 262/2
  • Lowest Total: 68/0
  • Avg. Runs: 161 | Avg. Wickets: 6
  • Most Runs by Player: 2548
  • Most Wickets by Player: 84
  • Highest Individual Score: 132
  • Best Bowling Figures: 5/14

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

  • Matches Played: 261
  • Wins: 134 | Losses: 122 | Tied: 1 | No Result: 4
  • Highest Total: 272/7
  • Lowest Total: 66/2
  • Avg. Runs: 156 | Avg. Wickets: 5
  • Most Runs by Player: 3035
  • Most Wickets by Player: 185
  • Highest Individual Score: 158
  • Best Bowling Figures: 5/15

5. Recent Head-to-Head Matches

1. IPL 2024, Match 42 (26 April)

  • KKR: 261-6 (20)
  • PBKS: 262-2 (18.4)
  • Result: PBKS won by 8 wickets

2. IPL 2023, Match 53 (08 May)

  • PBKS: 179-7 (20)
  • KKR: 182-5 (20)
  • Result: KKR won by 5 wickets

3. IPL 2023, Match 2 (01 April)

  • PBKS: 191-5 (20)
  • KKR: 146-7 (16.0)
  • Result: PBKS won by DLS method

6. Team Analysis

Punjab Kings (PBKS)

Strengths:

  • Power-packed middle-order (Stoinis, Maxwell, Wadhera)
  • High wicket-taking options: Chahal, Jansen, Bartlett
  • Arshdeep’s consistent death-over control

Weaknesses:

  • Fragile opening pair
  • Inconsistent finishing

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Strengths:

  • Versatile all-rounders (Russell, Narine, Venkatesh)
  • High impact top order
  • Good blend of youth and experience

Weaknesses:

  • Unreliable lower-order with the bat
  • Pace bowling can be expensive

7. Probable Playing XIs

PBKS (Batting First)

  • Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal

Impact Subs: Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Praveen Dubey, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Harpreet Brar

PBKS (Bowling First)

  • Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vyshak Vijaykumar/Yash Thakur

Impact Subs: Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod

KKR (Batting First)

  • Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Spencer Johnson/Moeen Ali

Impact Subs: Varun Chakaravarthy, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia

KKR (Bowling First)

  • Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Spencer Johnson/Moeen Ali, Varun Chakaravarthy

Impact Subs: Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia

8. Player Battles to Watch

  • Russell vs Arshdeep Singh: Strike rate of 210+ vs PBKS
  • Maxwell vs Narine: Narine has dismissed Maxwell 3 times in 5 innings
  • Shreyas Iyer vs Varun Chakaravarthy: Middle-over dominance clash

9. Key Stats and Milestones

  • Marcus Stoinis needs 3 sixes to reach 100 IPL sixes
  • Ajinkya Rahane is 4 fours short of 500 IPL fours
  • Nehal Wadhera requires 9 runs to complete 500 IPL runs

10. Fantasy Cricket Tips

Top Picks

  • Captain Choices: Marcus Stoinis, Andre Russell, Shreyas Iyer
  • Vice-Captain Options: Rinku Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Arshdeep Singh

Budget Picks

  • Nehal Wadhera
  • Ramandeep Singh
  • Xavier Bartlett

Avoid (Risky Picks)

  • Moeen Ali (if not playing)
  • Manish Pandey (form concern)

Grand League Gambles

  • Priyansh Arya
  • Varun Chakaravarthy

11. Betting Tips

  • Toss Tip: Team winning toss should opt to field (Win % is higher)
  • Top Batsman: Shreyas Iyer or Rinku Singh
  • Top Bowler: Arshdeep Singh or Varun Chakaravarthy
  • Powerplay Score Over/Under 50: Bet Over if PBKS batting
  • Match Winner: KKR is statistically favored (60% fan votes)

12. Match Prediction

Based on overall team balance, head-to-head dominance, and recent form, Kolkata Knight Riders enter this contest as slight favorites. However, Punjab Kings’ strong familiarity with the venue and recent successful chases at Mullanpur make them a dangerous unit.

Prediction: KKR to win a close game, unless PBKS bats second with strong momentum from the middle order.



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