Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns with Punjab Kings in match 45 of the Indian Premier League 2021 on Friday, October 1. The match would be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai and would begin at 7:30 pm IST (Indian Standard Time). The Knight Riders have been in very good form so far in the UAE leg of IPL 2021, winning three out of their four matches, with the loss coming against Chennai Super Kings, that too off the last ball of the innings. Eoin Morgan has been superb with his captaincy, rotating his bowlers well and restricting opponents to chaseable totals. Then, his batsmen have come out all guns firing and won the match/ They are currently fourth in the points table and a win today against sixth-placed Punjab would solidify their hopes of making it to the playoffs. What is uncertain for them is the status of Andre Russell, who missed the match against Delhi Capitals owing to an injury. KKR would hope to have him fit and ready for this match.KKR vs PBKS Preview

Punjab Kings on the other hand, has suffered a big blow with Chris Gayle leaving the bio-bubble to refresh himself before the T20 World Cup. Thus, he would be unavailable for this and the remainder of Punjab's matches this season and KL Rahul's side would find it difficult to replace a player of his calibre in the middle-order. They are most likely going to promote Aiden Markram up the order with the South African being in good form and Fabian Allen is expected to feature for them. KKR vs PBKS, IPL 2021 Live Cricket Streaming: Watch Free Telecast of Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings on Star Sports and Disney+Hotstar Online

Fans making Dream11 Teams are well-versed with the fact that the captain fetches double points while the vice-captain multiplies the points x1.5 times. Here are the recommended choices for captain and vice-captain's slot for your Dream11 fantasy team for this match.

KKR vs PBKS, IPL 2011 Dream11 Fantasy Team Captain Pick: Sunil Narine

The Knight Riders ace has been one of the most consistent performers in the UAE leg of IPL 2021, so far. With the ball in hand, he does what he does best-picking wickets and bowling economical spells. He almost won the match for KKR against Chennai Super Kings and took some crucial wickets to restrict Delhi Capitals to a low total in their last match. With the bat, he smacked a few sixes to ensure that his side got over the line despite the pressure created by Delhi bowlers. He is set for another big performance and thus, the 33-year would be a good pick for the captain's slot for this match.

KKR vs PBKS, IPL 2011 Dream11 Fantasy Team Vice-Captain Pick: Mohammed Shami

Despite Punjab having a poor time in the UAE in IPL 2021, Mohammed Shami has been one of their best bets with the ball. The right-arm fast bowler, who consistently took wickets in India's Test against England prior to the second phase of IPL 2021, has taken seven wickets in three games in the UAE this year and he would be another key player for his side in the match against KKR.

KKR vs PBKS Likely Playing XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders Likely Playing XI:  Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahil Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Sandeep Warrier, Varun Chakravarthy.

Punjab Kings Likely Playing XI: KL Rahul (c & wk), Mandeep Singh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Ishan Porel, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Adil Rashid, Arshdeep Singh.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 01, 2021 02:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).