Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings match prediction 46th match

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab | Three winning bets to kick-start your week on a high

Fourth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders will face off with Kings XI Punjab, a team that has won four of their previous matches and are just out of the top-four zone for the time being. A win for either team will enhance their chances of qualifying for the knockouts, while a loss for either will dent their title aspirations for good. This is virtually a do-or-die situation for Kings XI Punjab at least, which makes the contest a one to watch out for.

To double the fun, I have already assorted the top three bets for you and listed them below. Just go through my analysis and invest strategically to become richer by the end of the day.

Total match sixes to be over 16.5 @ 1.72 (Bet 365)

The match will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and we are expecting raining sixes in the upcoming match. In the last matches at the venue, the number of sixes hit at the venue was 76, at a rate of 15.2 hits per match, having struck at least 17 in three of those matches. In the two matches Kings XI Punjab played at the venue this season, the total number of sixes were 51, striking at a rate of 25.5 hits per match, with both matches registering more than 16 sixes.

On the other hand, the two matches Kolkata Knight Riders played at the venue yielded 38 sixes, at a rate of 19 sixes per match. Two of the top two six-hitters this season - Nicholas Pooran (22 sixes) and KL Rahul (20 sixes) will feature in the match, alongside the likes of Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Mayank Agarwal (15 sixes), which makes the case obvious. So many big hitters, small ground - we have every reason to believe that 17 sixes will be scored in the upcoming match, making this a deal worth investing.

Total Opening Partnership - Kings XI Punjab over 25.5 runs @ 1.87 (Leo Vegas)

Even though Kings XI Punjab had a bumpy ride in the early stages of the 2020 IPL, they have always put up runs on the board early on. In the last five matches, their opening partnerships yielded 37, 17, 33, 78, 115, having amassed a total of 276 runs, at a rate of 56 runs per match, having stitched up at least 26 runs in four of those matches. Overall, in 11 matches so far, Kings XI Punjab have racked up a total of 660 runs, averaging 60 runs per match, having crossed the 25-run mark in nine of the above-mentioned games.

Having played two matches at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium this year, Kings XI Punjab have registered partnerships of 183 and 78 runs, at a rate of 130.5 runs per innings, with each score above 25 runs. On the other side, in the two matches Kolkata Knight Riders played at the venue, they conceded 56 and 67 runs respectively, at a rate of 61.5 runs per innings. Even in the last H2H match between these two sides, Kings XI Punjab openers had put up a 115-run opening wicket stand. This bet is a guaranteed one and we should not ignore it.

Kolkata Knight Riders to hit over 11.5 fours @ 1.60 (Sportsbet.io)

We are fortunate enough that Sportsbet.io has offered odds of 1.60 for this deal, with this being a fairly guaranteed bet. In the 11 matches played this season, Kolkata Knight Riders have hit a total of 143 boundaries, at a rate of 13 hits per match, having struck at least 12 in nine of those matches. Meanwhile, Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill have hit 33 and 31 boundaries respectively, and are in the list of the top 15 boundaries this season so far.

On the flip side, Sunrisers Hyderabad have conceded a total of 157 boundaries, at a rate of 14.27 hits per match, having shipped in nine of those matches. In the last five H2H matches between these two sides, Kolkata Knight Riders have hit a total of 92 boundaries (17, 16, 14, 24, 21), at a rate of 18.4 hits per match, having hit at least 12 in each of those games. Even in the last encounter between these two sides, earlier this season, Kolkata Knight Riders had registered a total of 17, which supports our case too. I hope you have placed the bet by now.