Chandigarh, Apr 15 (UNI) Both sides made notable changes to their lineups as Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bat first against Ajinkya Rahane-led Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 31 of IPL 2025 here on Tuesday.
Punjab brought in Australian duo Josh Inglis and Xavier Bartlett, aiming to bolster their balance and depth. "We are going to bat first. Feel the wicket has been really good for the last couple of matches. The dew comes in but the outfield doesn't skid through," Iyer said at the toss.
Emphasising the need for intensity in the field, Iyer added, "We need to take as many catches as possible and produce some moments of brilliance on the field."
KKR, on the other hand, made a solitary change, with Anrich Nortje coming in for Moeen Ali. "He has been working hard on his game and I am really looking forward to see him bowl tonight," Rahane said, expressing confidence in the South African quick.
While Rahane would have preferred to bowl first, he remained unflustered by the toss outcome. “For me, toss is something you cannot control. We have a batting lineup that can chase the target,” he remarked.
Teams:
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Anrich Nortje, Varun Chakaravarthy
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Josh Inglis, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy
Kolkata Knight Riders Impact Subs: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey
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