Cricket Live- Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2020: Another Battle For Playoff Spots

After Sunday night's upset wins for Chennai Super Kings (vs Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Rajasthan Royals (vs Mumbai Indians) Monday's match between former champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab could decide the fourth spot on the IPL 2020 table. Kolkata Knight Riders will aim to hold on to their fourth spot in the IPL 2020 points table when they face Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah on Monday evening. KKR have 12 points from 11 games while KXIP, on a four-match winning spree, are just two points behind after an equal number of games. The first-leg match between the two teams on October 10 ended in a thrilling two-run win for Kolkata Knight Riders. Get live cricket scores and live commentary of KKR vs KXIP live. (LIVE SCORECARD | POINTS TABLE | SCHEDULE & RESULTS)


PREVIEW

With teams making last-ditch effort to win spots in the IPL playoffs, every match counts at this stage of the tournament. Kings XI Punjab have won some of the closest matches in IPL 2020. If there was a prize for the best team with iron nerves, KL Rahul's KXIP would probably win it hands down. On Saturday, KXIP got out jail with a stunning win against Sunrisers Hyderabad, who frittered away a game from winning position to hand KXIP two crucial points at a stage when teams are gunning for spots in the IPL Playoffs (last four).

But all credit to Chris Jordan and Arshdeep Singh for picking six SRH wickets and breaking partnerships at crucial times. KXIP's bowling is certainly looking better now and with Mohammad Shami and Ravi Bishnoi providing enough back-up, KL Rahul will have enough bowling arsenal at his disposal against KKR.

Kolkata Knight Riders stunned Delhi Capitals by 59 runs on Saturday afternoon at Abu Dhabi. This win will give Eoin Morgan's team a lot of confidence. It was Varun Chakravarthy's spin that left DC's strong batting line-up all at sea. Chakravarthy picked up his maiden five-wicket haul in IPL but what came as a big plus was Pat Cummins bagging three wickets for 17 runs and those included Ajinkya Rahane and the inform Shikhar Dhawan.

Morgan will love to see KKR repeating their giant-killing act against KXIP. That will mean the England limited overs skipper is expecting Sunil Narine to produce a blistering knock in the middle overs. Narine scored 64 off 32 balls coming in at No. 5 after Nitish Rana held the top order together with a solid 81.

Both KKR and KXIP have some injury issues. Andre Russell missed the last two matches for KKR while Mayank Agarwal is also nursing a niggle.