IPL 2019, KXIP vs KKR: Kolkata beat Punjab by 7 wickets

H Gurney to L Rahul, Slower delivery first up from Gurney. Rahul looks to run it down to third man but gets a thick outside edge but the lack of pace on it sees the ball go to the keeper on a bounce.

Harry Gurney to bowl from the other end.

S Warrier to C Gayle, FOUR! Excellent shot once again from Gayle. 10 runs off the first over and a great start for Punjab. Full around off, Gayle drives it between mid off and covers for a boundary.

S Warrier to C Gayle, FOUR! First boundary of the match and it has class written all over it. Overpitched outside off, Gayle gets on his front foot and drives it beautifully through covers for a boundary.

S Warrier to L Rahul, Direct hit and Gayle was back for early showers. Good length ball outside off, Rahul taps it wide of point and goes for a single. Shubman Gill gets to the ball quickly and has a shy at the keeper's end. Gayle was slow but Shubman also misses his shy.

S Warrier to L Rahul, Stylish shot but for no run. Full and straight outside off. Rahul gets on his front foot and drives it beautifully but straight to the man at cover. Uthappa there takes it on a bounce.

S Warrier to C Gayle, First runs off the evening. Gayle is off the mark. Length ball around the pads, Gayle tucks it towards mid-wicket and gets off the mark.

S Warrier to C Gayle, Warrier starts with a good length ball on the pads. There was a hint on inward movement for Warrier first up. Gayle taps it back towards the bowler.

We are all set to begin. The umpires make their way out in the middle. Kolkata fielders take their respective positions in the field. Chris Gayle and KL Rahul are the openers for Punjab. Sandeep Warrier to start the proceedings with the new ball for Kolkata.

Punjab Playing XI - Lokesh Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh (IN for Simran Singh), Nicholas Pooran (WK), Sam Curran (IN for David Miller), Ravichandran Ashwin (C), Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Andrew Tye (IN for Mujeeb Ur Rahman).

Kolkata Playing XI (Unchanged) - Chris Lynn, Shubman Gill, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (WK/C), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Piyush Chawla, Sandeep Warrier, Harry Gurney.

Punjab skipper, Ravichandran Ashwin says he would have bowled first as well but also adds that they were confused but Ashwin feels it won't be much of a difference. On why they make changes regularly, Ashwin laughs and says that if he could have got players straight into the team from the hospital he would have. Ashwin feels that if they get a win here the momentum will change. Informs Sam Curran and Andrew Tye come in place of David Miller and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Kolkata skipper, Dinesh Karthik says that after a long time he has won the toss and laughs and says he was confused as what he wanted to do but then says they are bowling first as he thinks dew will come on later. Dinesh Karthik ends by informing us that they are unchanged for this game.

Toss - Up goes the coin and Dinesh Karthik calls it right. Kolkata opt to bowl first.

Match 52 sees 6th placed Kolkata take on 7th placed Punjab. After three losses in a row, Punjab are back at their den and will be desperately eying to end their losing run. Ravichandran Ashwin and his men have a great record at home and will be looking to continue that and get closer to the playoffs. Kolkata on the other hand ended their 6 game losing run against Mumbai and are still in contention to qualify. They will be looking to build on that win and try and sneak into the fourth place with a win over Punjab here tonight. An exciting clash awaits us. Stay tuned for updates.