Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 26 (ANI): The defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) middle order batters (Nos. 4 to 7) have struggled a lot in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season so far in the eight matches both teams have played so far in the competition.

The Punjab-based franchise and the Knight Riders' middle order have performed miserably in the 18th edition so far. On one side, KKR's average is 20.47; on the other hand, the Shreyas Iyer-led side has an average of 23.90, as per ESPNcricinfo.

Angkrish Raghuvansi has scored 197 runs in the seven innings at a strike rate of 149.24 and an average of 39.40 with a highest score of 50.

The Kolkata-based franchise, Venkatesh Iyer, has scored only 135 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 139.17 and an average of 22.50 with a best score of 60.

Rinku Singh, so far in the tournament, has 133 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 146.15 and an average of 33.25

Right-hand batter Ramandeep Singh has only 30 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 115.38 and at an average of 7.50.

Andre Russell has scored only 55 runs at a strike rate of 119.56 and an average of 9.16 with a best score of 21.

Nehal Wadhera has scored 189 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 146.51 and an average of 37.80 with the best score of 62.

Shashank Singh has managed to score 158 runs at a strike rate of 128.45 in eight matches, with a best score of 52*.

All-rounder Marcus Stoinis has so far scored only 67 runs at a strike rate of 152.27 and an average of 16.75, with the best score of 34* in the seven matches.

Glenn Maxwell has managed to score just 41 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 100 and at an average of 8.20, with a highest score of 30.

Josh Inglis has managed to score just 45 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 112.50 and at an average of 15, with the best score of 29.

Kolkata Knight Riders will compete against Punjab Kings in the match number. 44 of the IPL 2025 at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday, where the Ajinkya Rahane-led side will be aiming to recover from consecutive defeats and return to winning ways.

The host, Kolkata, is currently placed seventh on the points table with only three wins from eight matches, while Punjab sits firmly in fifth place with five wins out of eight matches.

KKR requires five victories in their final six matches to have a chance at qualifying for the top four. For PBKS, achieving three wins in their remaining six games would be sufficient for Iyer's Punjab.

Squads:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson, Chetan Sakariya, Mayank Markande.

Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Praveen Dubey, Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kuldeep Sen, Harnoor Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash. (ANI)