By Admin 
The 12th match of IPL 2026 will be played between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Monday evening. It is a big challenge for KKR to take 2 points by defeating Punjab Kings at their home ground.
The start of IPL 2026 has not been good for Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR is at ninth position in the points table after losing both its opening matches. In its first match, KKR had to face defeat by Mumbai Indians by 6 wickets at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. At its home ground, Eden Gardens, KKR lost by 65 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. In such a situation, the third match of the season against Punjab Kings is very important for KKR. KKR, captained by Ajinkya Rahane, will try to register its first win of the season by defeating Punjab, captained by Shreyas Iyer.
It is not going to be easy for KKR to defeat Punjab Kings. Punjab is at fourth position in the points table after winning both its matches of the season. Punjab’s batting is explosive and bowling is lethal. Punjab’s strength in batting is both the openers (Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh) as well as Cooper Connolly and Shreyas Iyer. In bowling, there are Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Vijay Kumar Vaishak and Yuzvendra Chahal. Marco Jansen and Marcus Stoinis make the team’s batting and bowling balanced. In this way the Punjab team is very balanced and strong.
KKR needs improvement in both its batting and bowling. In batting, apart from captain Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi, runs have come from the bat of Rinku Singh to some extent. The bowling is weak there. Only a strong performance as a team for KKR against Punjab will be able to get 2 points.
Talking about the pitch, the pitch of Eden Gardens is generally considered favorable for batsmen. It is easy to score runs due to the fast outfield. The surface here is flat and the ball hits the bat well, due to which the batsmen are able to play freely. The fast bowlers may get some help in the beginning of the match, but as the game progresses, the pitch becomes slow and the spin bowlers start showing effect. Chasing the target is often easy here due to short boundaries and dew.
Weather conditions can trouble KKR and PBKS. According to the Meteorological Department, the weather may affect the KKR-PBKS match. The city is expected to remain cloudy throughout the day and there are chances of rain. Along with rain, strong winds and storms can also hinder the match. The probability of rain between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm is 40 percent, which will increase to 50 percent in the next hour and will gradually reduce during the night. In such circumstances the possibility of the match being shortened increases.
A total of 35 matches have been played between the two teams so far. KKR has the upper hand in this. KKR has won 21 matches, while Punjab Kings have won 13 matches. A match between the two teams was cancelled.
KKR’s probable playing eleven: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wicketkeeper), C Green, RK Singh, Ramandeep Singh, SP Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakraborty, Karthik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani.
Possible playing of Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Cooper Connolly, S Iyer (captain), Shashank Singh, MP Stoinis, M Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vaishakh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
PAK