KXIP vs KKR Match Prediction: Who will win today's battle between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2016, Match 13

Kolkata Knight riders will go head to head against Kings XI Punjab in the latter’s home ground at Mohali. KKR boasts of a tremendous record against the Kings having won 11 encounters out of the 17 times they have met before. Will the bragging rights remain with KKR this IPL 2016? Only time will tell.

Records are a thing of the past and it will be mighty difficult picking a favourite for tonight's game. KKR might still have a bit of an edge because of a superior fast bowling attack. Their faster bowlers should enjoy the bounce and carry that a typical Mohali track offers.

It should be a beautiful track in Mohali where the batters can hit through the line. There will be bounce for the faster bowlers and a hint of turn for the tweakers. All in all, it should be a perfect T20 wicket. Also, expect a lot of twos and threes in a big ground like Mohali. The team that runs better between the wickets might just end up winning the contest.

If KKR bats first

Predicted score: 165 and above

Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir will look to do what they have been doing for ages in that purple and gold jersey. One can expect a partnership of 50 plus from them every time they step into the field. Expect the likes of Manish Pandey and Shakib to get going straightaway and a total of 100 is expected in 14 overs with a loss of may be 3 wickets.

Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell can then go bang-bang and take the score to 165 and above. They also have the cushion of quality lower order batsmen in Suryakumar Yadav and Piyush Chawla.

The bowlers should defend anything over 160. The new ball attack comprising of the slippery Umesh Yadav and the giraffe Morne Morkel would love to strike quickly. Wickets of the in form Manan Vohra and Murali Vijay early in the innings will set the tone for KKR. Sunil Narine, Shakib and Piyush Chawla can team up together after that and choke the opposition with some intelligent spin bowling. Narine v Maxwell and Morkel v Miller will be the two contests to look forward to.

If the KXIP bat first

Predicted score: 160 and above

Murali Vijay and Manan Vohra have been formidable at the top and KXIP would again want these two openers to deliver the goods. Vijay and Vohra have taken calculated risks at the top and managed to maintain a very good run rate. If KXIP can get to 60 after 6 overs, then they will definitely have a massive upper hand. One can only hope that Marsh and Miller can rediscover some form tonight. Maxwell has started smacking them from the middle of his blade and that bodes well for the Kings.

The trio of Kyle Abbott, Mohit Sharma and Sandeep Sharma would be keen to inflict some damage at the top. They would love to see the backs of Gambhir, Uthappa and Pandey and have the KKR reeling at somewhere around 40/3.

Axar and Sahu need to step up after that and try to restrict the big guys like Pathan and Russell. Abbott can then come back in the death and unsettle the batters with his yorkers. The Kings can also bank on Mohit Sharma's back of the hand slower ball to deceive the KKR batsmen.