The KKR vs PBKS match tonight, the 31st of this season's IPL, will be keenly watched for one particular reason: to see how the Punjab team's captain Shreyas Iyer approaches this game.

No, we are not talking tactics or strategy here. The thing is Shreyas will be extra motivated to do well against KKR, a team that he had helped win the title last year. No team in the IPL had let go of its winning skipper. But the KKR did the unthinkable. It retained 6 players from its trophy triumph squad. But Shreyas wasn't one among them.

Was it a slight or just a constraint imposed by the rules of the league? Hard to tell. But Shreyas, who was picked by PBKS for a hefty Rs 26.75 crore, has already been extra exciting this season. His strike rate, which was 146.86 last year, has zoomed to 208.33, the highest among Indians who have faced at least 100 balls this season. Even his short-ball weakness seems to have been sorted. In 5 innings, he has slammed 250 runs with 93* being the highest. 

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But PBKS, as a team, has been at best middling. It has won 3 out of its 5 matches. KKR has been no better, it has won 3 and lost 3.

So, when these two middling teams face-off, at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh, things are going to be extra keen.

PBK is coming off a disappointing defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, in which despite scoring a mammoth 245/6, it failed to defend the total. Currently, they sit sixth on the points table. KKR, on the other hand, is fresh from a dominant victory over Chennai Super Kings, where it chased down an underwhelming target of 104 with eight wickets and 59 balls to spare. KKR is fifth on the points table, just ahead of PBKS.

PBKS and KKR have faced each other 33 times in IPL history. KKR holds a significant advantage with 21 wins, while PBKS has managed 12 victories. However, PBKS will look to close the gap, especially on its home turf. Aside from Shreyas, its has the explosive opener Priyansh Arya and Marcus Stoinis in good form. The former, in fact, hit a sensational century against CSK.  Stoinis needs 75 runs to complete 2,000 IPL runs. His all-round abilities make him a key player. Despite struggling this season, Yuzvendra Chahal remains a threat with his experience and wicket-taking ability.

For Kolkata Knight Riders, the captain Ajinkya Rahane has been consistent, leading from the front with over 200 runs this season. Andre Russell, known for his explosive batting and death-over bowling, has not come to the party so far. Sunil Narine has had a mixed season. Varun Chakravarthy, with an economy rate of 6.73, has been instrumental in KKR's spin-heavy strategy.

The pitch at Mullanpur offers a balanced contest between bat and ball. Fast bowlers can exploit early pace and bounce, while spinners are likely to dominate the middle overs. The average first-innings score is 180, suggesting a high-scoring encounter.

Probable teams:

Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai/Aaron Hardie.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy.

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