New Delhi: In search of their first win of the IPL 2026 season, Kolkata Knight Riders opted to bat first. Shreyas IyerPunjab Kings (PBKS) on Monday.KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane Won the toss and elected to bat first at Eden Gardens.KKR made two changes to their playing XI, and neither of their two enigmatic spinners, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakraborty, made the squad. “We’re going to bat first. Looks like a good wicket, a bit on the drying side, but it’s a very good wicket and the grass cover is a bit low. It’s all about that belief and confidence. It’s about winning those little moments. We’re confident. Two changes, forced. Varun Chakraborty was injured while taking a catch in the last game and Narine is not playing. Powell and Saini are included,” Rahane said at the toss.Meanwhile, PBKS went with the same team.“I had to bowl too. I’m very happy with the decision he took. Our (Shreyas and Ponting) chemistry has blossomed since our Delhi Capitals days. He gives freedom to all youngsters and is an inspiration himself. That’s the team for us,” said PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer. TeamsPunjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhasmaran Singh (W), Shreyas Iyer (C), Cooper Connolly, Nihal Vadhira, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Johnson, Xavier Bartlett, Vijay Kumar Veshak, Arshadeep Singh, Yuzvinder Chahal.Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (w), Rowman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Navdeep Saini, Vibhu Arora, Karthik Tyagi.Effect sublistPunjab Kings Impact Subs: Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shidge, Vishnu Vinod, Parveen Dubey, Harpreet BrarKolkata Knight Riders Impact Subs: Blessing Mazarbani, Manish Pandey, Tejaswi Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Saurabh Dubey
