11:07pm And that will be all from us for tonight. A damp squib, quite literally, with the weather (and rain) winning. We will be back at it tomorrow from Guwahati, although fair warning - there could be some rain in the offing there as well. Anyway, until then, from all of us here at ESPNcricinfo, it is goodbye. Take care, folks!

10:58pm The two captains are having a chat with the two on-field umpires and the fourth umpire. And the captains shake hands now. The game has been called off. Ah, what a shame. This was shaping up to be a nice contest, and a match where both teams would have wanted those two points. But in the end, both get a point apiece and KKR, by virtue of that, are off the mark this season. PBKS, meanwhile, reclaim their place at the top of the table.

10:56pm The super sopper is out now. Proper race against time this. 11:14pm local time is when they need to start.

10:48pm The ground staff are doing their best to get this ground ready. Seems like the rain has passed fully. Now it is up to how quickly the ground can be dried. Water droplets are visible on the field, for what it is worth. Ponting now makes his way out and immediately brushes his palm, checking for how wet the grass is.

10:36pm Covers being peeled off now. We might actually have a game here.

10:29pm Okay now, hang on, folks. The rain seems to have eased up considerably and has almost stopped. Could we be in for a game from here? 11:14pm local time is the cut-off for the game to resume and be a five-overs-per-side match. The ground staff are out in full force too now, beginning their mop-up operation.

Mehtab: "Hats-off to ground staff. they are the real heroes"

10:13pm Sreshth pings, saying that people in the vicinity of the ground have received a thunderstorm alert on their phones. The prospects of a resumption indeed bleak now.

Raj: "RCB bowling is not looking great. they have not been tested yet in two games. I will go with MI, pBKS, DC and RR for top 4. "

Shaurya: "Shashwat should we do something productive like predicting the top 4 in the meantime? Everybody should also give reasons too!!" Well, why not? If you are asking me, I might go with MI, RCB, DC and PBKS, because they seem to have the four best bowling attacks. Their batting is not shabby either.

Mahi: "Update? it will be unfair for PBKS . After starting the match that good.Cut off time is 11:14 so rain must stop at 10:44" -- Might need rain to stop a little before that. This mop-up operation will take time.

Sunil.G: "Looks like GT and CSK will be the only 2 teams without points after the washout tonight."

shardul: ""Rain stops Play." "Rain stops. Play" One placement of a dot is all we need at this moment " -- Getting bored without the cricket, are we?

Mohammad : "what is the scenario now on ground and how much chances of play ??" -- Steady rain, at the moment. The whole ground has been covered since the onset of rain but it might still take upwards of 30-40 minutes to get it ready for play. If we are to have a game tonight, the rain needs to stop soon.

9:52pm The rain has definitely gotten lighter than, say, an hour ago. But is is still steady and persistent rain.

Gokul Pradeep V: "When do we start losing overs ?" -- We are already well into that territory.

Soham: "In the NFL, lots of teams are moving from open stadiums to domes... while in Tests weather is part of the game, I don't get why T20s can't be played under a closed roof. Rain delays and cancellations shouldn't be a thing in the IPL" -- Think that might be a lot more difficult to execute in a sport like cricket because of the height of the roof etc.

9:38pm For those asking, it is still raining. Steady rain too, and you can see some puddles forming on the covers. Wind may have eased up a little, though.

9:18pm The rain seems to have gotten lighter but only on a relative scale. Still steady.

9:06pm Here is Sresth with an update from the press box: "The press box is shaking like an earthquake because of how strong the winds are." The game must resume at 11:14pm local time for five-overs-a-side. Game Must end by 11:40pm local time.

Mohammed Ali: "According to the forecast, the rain will stop at 10 PM, so we'll have to wait until then for the game to start" -- May have to wait a bit more because this mop-up operating might take a bit of time...

8:57pm Still bucketing down at the Eden Gardens. Plenty of wind blowing too. Not sure if that is a good or a bad sign. Might be the former because wind tends to blow the rain over. Don't take it as gospel, though. We start losing overs from 9:10pm local time.

8:45pm Raining pretty steadily, and the covers are rooted to the playing field. Most of the uncovered stands wear a deserted look, which is another sign of how heavy the rain is. Sreshth chimes in with a not-so-promising update, saying that the rain is getting heavier. Strap in folks, we could be here a long time...

Shan: "Shashwat, What time will be when we start loosing overs? " -- Still waiting for an official time. But with the rain that is falling (and has fallen), it is very likely we will have to settle for a shortened game.

8:36pm The rain seems to be at its heaviest yet. Not sure if that inspection at 8:45pm local time will be happening.

S P: "How's the drainage at Eden and how fast can we get back to play if the rain stops...Shashwat?" -- Drainage should be good. Not sure of the exact time frame but since the whole ground has been covered (again), the mop-up operation might not take a lot of time. We have gotten word that there will be an inspection at 8:45pm local time. For now, the covers still firmly in place, with the rain still falling.

Swaroop : "During last year's IPL this very same fixture at Eden Gardens was washed out due to rain but after PBKS had finished their innings and KKR had barely begun theirs. Hopefully lightining doesn't strike twice literally and figurative speaking!"

Saurabh: "Any update? From people around, if it's going to be a washout, so that we can plan ahead!!" -- Only if anyone could predict the weather...

8:10pm Some good news, folks. The covers are being removed, one by one. Seems like the rain has stopped too. Well, scratch that. A few spots of rain still visible. But the covers are in the process of being peeled off. Looks like we were too early to the party. Covers coming back on.

Ashwin: "Without a doubt Sameer Rizvi.Two POTM awards in the first two matches and both when the team was struggling in the powerplay"

8:03pm Shahrukh Khan is at the ground and when his face comes up on the giant screen, there is, unsurprisingly, a huge cheer. Covers still on, though, so no change on that front. In the meantime, do chip in with who you think has been the standout player of the season so far.

Sowmya : "At park street (nearly 4 km away from Eden Gardens) it is pouring heavily and yours truly won't risk getting to the ground. Let us prepare mentally for a wash out !" -- Well, that is not the update we wanted to here. Fingers crossed the rain abates enough for play to resume.

7:48pm Uh-oh, the rain has gotten heavier and the covers are coming on. Ground staff scurrying to get the covers in place. The whole ground can be covered here, but because they have now gone off, they might not be able to come back on until the rain fully stops now. Full ground covered now, for what it is worth.

As we wait for the rain to relent, the time might be ripe to indulge into this piece of Bartlett, and how he might end up becoming an X-Factor for PBKS, both with the ball and as a late-order basher.

Vinay: "I stay 5kms away from stadium and want to update that its raining in kolkata. " -- A mizzle is on at the stadium too. But not heavy enough to force a stoppage (for now at least).

The decision to bat first does not look quite as great now. Anyway, Raghuvanshi on strike now

Arshdeep again. How does Rahane play it now?

Green in at 3

Wide slip comes in now

Bartlett from the other end. A few spots of rain too. No slip for Allen, which is a little surprising

Arshdeep getting the ball to move around early

Slip remains for Allen

7:28pm The players make their way out. Rahane to open the batting alongside Allen, so no surprises there. Arshdeep has the new ball. Can he get the ball to shape into Allen early? Let's find out, although Rahane is on strike for now!

Gokul Pradeep V: "Keeping Varun out is understandable, but how can you keep Narine out. KKR will miss him for sure !!" -- Neither has been dropped, for what it is worth. Varun injured himself in the last game, whereas Narine pulled up unwell for tonight's contest.

Nitin Shetty: "Who's KKR's 5th bowler? Green, Powell " -- Muzarabani should come in when KKR bowl. Them having just three overseas players in their starting eleven gives them that option.

Adarsh: "Rahane saying the pitch looks on the drier side (as a justification to bat first) and not including their two frontline spinners, is not a good sign for KKR fans." -- It does send out mixed signals. Guess we will have to wait and see if he and KKR got their pitch-reading right.

7:20pm Shreyas Iyer, because he led KKR to a title in 2024 and was still not retained, only to be bought for a heavy sum at the 2025 mega auction by PBKS, is currently front and centre of this rivalry. And the Iyer touch, as Sreshth Shah writes, may have something to do with both franchises' fortunes.

Deepak Gupta : "Guys please stop talking about Arsenal. Still hurt from Southampton loss. Let me enjoy Cricket till tomorrow when we will play Champions League." -- Well, apparently the whole world likes talking about Arsenal and what they do (or don't do) but anyway, back to the cricket. Tonight will be the first time since this game in 2019 that KKR will be without both Narine and Varun.

Karanbir Singh: "Saw the mention of Arsenal in the comments thread. Kings XI Punjab fan here since the inception of IPL. Arsenal fan since 2005 when I started following Football. Even though the past few years is as close to the top as I have seen these teams, I have seen too much to assume a happy ending. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst." -- As they say, the final step is often the hardest.

Pitch Report: 64m and 65m square boundaries, with a 74m hit straight down the ground. Kevin Pietersen says he is not very wise when it comes to pitches. There is some live grass through the majority of the surface but there are also some bare patches, although most are on the front foot, he reckons. This has been a high-scoring venue in recent years but spinners will have to bowl very well to have a big impact tonight. Daren Ganga concludes by saying that bat will dominate ball.

7:10pm Well, lots to unpack from the toss. Narine and Varun both being absent is obviously a massive blow for KKR, and by the looks of it, they are happy to have just a solitary spinner in Anukul. Might have to keep an eye on the over-rate when they bowl. PBKS sticking to their tried and tested formula, with Arya likely to come in when they bat.

Kolkata Knight Riders batting-first XI: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, RInku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Navdeep Saini, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi

KKR bench: Manish Pandey, Tejasvi Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Saurabh Dubey, Blessing Muzarabani

Punjab Kings bowling-first XI: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

PBKS bench: Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Pravin Dubey, Priyansh Arya, Harpreet Brar

7pm It is time for the toss. And Danny Morrison belts out a welcome message for everyone. Rahane and Shreyas out there in the middle. Shreyas calls tails, but heads it is. KKR will bat first. Wow, that is a surprise. Rahane says the pitch looks on the drier side and that he wants to put up runs on the board. Preparation-wise, it has been fantastic, and he stresses the importance of winning the big moments. They are confident as a unit. Says they will think about Narine as an opener, with a smile, of course. Narine and Varun are both out - Varun due to an injury; Narine because he is unwell. Powell and Saini come in. Big news again.

Shreyas says he would have bowled anyway, so he is happy with the decision Rahane has taken. Says his chemistry with Ponting blossomed from when they were at DC together. Says he is an inspiration and working beside him is a phenomenal feeling. Same team, says Shreyas.

MC: "Capitalisation of Arsenal tells me cricket match not be the only sport Jugilee is following :p" -- Well, PBKS will hope for a better fortnight than the one Arsenal have just had...

Shaurya Ghodkha: "I believe KKR is reuniting the Finn-Seifert duo at the top..!! Are we in for a run scoring thriller!!" -- That might be the unlikelier route, given Rahane has done fairly decently in the powerplay, as he has been quick to point out. Plus, if Rahane is in the side, it does make sense to have him up top when the field restrictions are on.

6:48pm Navdeep Saini has received his KKR cap. That could open the door for KKR playing another overseas batter. They could also have included Saini in place of one of the other Indian pacers (Arora or Tyagi). Either way, we should know KKR's combination in a few minutes from now at the toss.

6:45pm It has been a season of contrast already for the Kings and the Knight Riders, and that is not just restricted to results. All that and much more in Himanshu Agrawal's preview.

VS: "Hope Cam green fires today. He is the vital cog in KKR line up.. " -- He has been bowling in the warm-ups but no news yet on if he will bowl in the game. ICYMI, this is all that has happened in the Cam Green will-he-wont-he bowl saga.

Jugilee : "Punjab seem to be the team to beat. Their Arsenal is amazing and have the power to deliver at home and away , setting and chasing. "

6:40pm Sreshth Shah is our eyes and ears at the venue today and this is what he has to say: Navdeep Saini is marking his run-up, so are Vaibhav Arora and Kartik Tyagi. Haven't seen Blessing Muzarabani mark his just yet. Does that mean KKR will drop Muzarabani and make way for a Rachin Ravindra or Rovman Powell.

6:35pm First things first. There is a bit of rain forecast today and the bowlers' run-ups at both ends are under a cover each, although they are in the process of being peeled off. But more crucially, it is dry at the moment, with both sets of players going through their warm-up routines. Let's hope it stays that way and we get an uninterrupted game tonight.

6:30pm The last time the Kolkata Knight Riders lost their opening two games of an IPL campaign, the world looked…different. The Mumbai Indians had not won an IPL title yet. The Chennai Super Kings had only won two. MS Dhoni was India's all-format captain. Sachin Tendulkar was still playing international cricket. And Lionel Messi had not made a senior World Cup final.

But the last time KKR went 0-2 at the start of the season, they also won the whole thing. It was 14 seasons and many moons ago, but it did happen, meaning that there is precedent. Although following through on that is another matter altogether.

The Punjab Kings have never won the IPL, and that is quite well-documented. But history is not a wall. It is a door waiting to be broken down. And on the back of a runners-up finish in 2025, and two consecutive wins to begin this campaign, there is belief, not just among the PBKS camp, that this could indeed be their year.

And so, here we are. At the Eden Gardens. For Match 12. KKR in historically uninhabited territory but in front of their fans, hoping their season can catch fire and be the rage, like it was all those years ago; the Punjab Kings, bullish about their chances, and sizing up another scalp to surge to the top of the table once again.

This promises to be fun, so hop on to ESPNcricinfo's live coverage!