3 player battles to watch out for in PBKS vs KKR, Match 31 of IPL 2025 ft. Shreyas Iyer

Punjab Kings (PBKS) will face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh. The 31st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will be played on Tuesday, April 15.

Both teams have had similar campaigns in this year's cash-rich league. KKR have won three out of six matches and are placed fifth in the standings with an NRR of +0.803. PBKS, on the other hand, have won three out of five matches and are placed just below the Knight Riders due to an inferior NRR of +0.065.

Kolkata won their last game against the Chennai Super Kings and will look to continue their winning streak. Punjab, meanwhile, went down to the SunRisers Hyderabad and will be desperate to return home with two points.

Both teams have some quality and in-form batters and bowlers who can turn the game on its head single-handedly. On that note, let's look at three key player battles to watch out for.

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#1 Shreyas Iyer vs Varun Chakravarthy

The former KKR skipper, who has been in terrific form, will look to continue his blistering form against his old team. Shreyas Iyer has already amassed 250 runs in five games at an average of 83.33 and a strike rate of almost 210.

Iyer could be challenged by his former IPL teammate Varun Chakravarthy, who has already picked up eight wickets in six games. The duel between the two in the middle phase of the game could very well decide the match's outcome.

Iyer has scored 33 runs off 22 balls against Chakravarthy in T20s while getting out only once.

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#2 Ajinkya Rahane vs Arshdeep Singh

The KKR skipper has been in terrific form with the bat, leading the team from the front. The right-handed batter has amassed 204 runs in six games at an average of 40.80 and a strike rate of almost 155, including two half-centuries.

Although Ajinkya Rahane has been in blistering form, he could be challenged by PBKS' new ball bowler Arshdeep Singh. The left-arm pacer has dismissed Rahane twice in 16 balls in the shortest format while conceding only 21 runs.

Rahane will have to be wary about Arshdeep's ability to swing the new ball, which has yielded the pacer most of his wickets.

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#3 Marcus Stoinis vs Andre Russell

The PBKS all-rounder has had a very ordinary IPL 2025 tournament so far for his new team, accumulating only 59 runs in five games. The Aussie cricketer's poor form could extend further against KKR given his poor record against Andre Russell.

Kolkata skipper Rahane would be tempted to throw the ball to Russell whenever Stoinis comes out to bat, given the West Indian's impressive record against the PBKS cricketer. Russell has dismissed Stoinis six times in 38 deliveries in the shortest format and conceded only 42 runs.