IPL 2018: Match 44, KXIP vs KKR- Weather Forecast

The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) managed to beat the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their previous meeting at the Eden Gardens. Ravichandran Ashwin’s men will hope to replicate the performance at the Holkar Stadium in Indore as well. Both teams lost their erstwhile matches and will be keen to stage a comeback. Dinesh Karthik’s boys slumped in their previous encounters against the Mumbai Indians (MI).

The franchise needs to park the disappointments aside and take charge with a new zeal. They require wins in all their remaining contests in order to qualify for the top-four. Their net run-rate has also taken a massive dent following their 102 runs defeat against Mumbai. On the other hand, Punjab lost their match against the Rajasthan Royals and need a victory to inch closer to qualification for the playoffs.

The pitch at the venue has helped the slower bowlers and it isn’t expected to be any different this time around. Their top order has to fire as their middle order hasn’t looked promising thus far. Their bowlers in Andre Tye and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have been amongst the wickets and they are required to play a crucial role in putting a lid on the Knights batsmen.

Hot day in store

As per AccuWeather, there are no forecasts of rain throughout the day. However, the heat might be a massive factor in the match as the temperature is speculated to hover around the 36 degrees Celsius to the 40 degrees Celsius from 4 pm to 8 pm- the expected duration of the match. There will be a significant amount of cloud cover, however, it’s deemed to be harmless.

Overall verdict   

The team fielding first needs to be cautious and keep themselves hydrated in order to beat the heat. The high temperature might also impact the pitch and make it much slower than it has been.

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