Punjab Kings will return to Mohali to face KKR in the first match of the 2023 IPL season. Last year, KKR won the only head-to-head meeting between these two sides in Mumbai.
This year’s IPL will be held in 12 different cities, including Lucknow and Guwahati. This is the first of five home games for the Punjab Kings in Mohali. Mayank Agarwal, who led the team last year, is now with SRH. Shikhar Dhawan is the new captain of PBKS.
Shreyas Iyer’s injury earlier in the season dealt a major blow to KKR. Nitish Rana has been named the new captain of the two-time IPL champions. Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, and Rinku Singh will be crucial for the Knight Riders in a run chase.
Punjab will also be anticipating strong performances from Livingstone, Raza, and Shahrukh Khan. Curran is also a useful batter in the lower order, and Khan has been reliable in the lower middle order in recent seasons.
The 2nd Match between Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders will take place on 1st April, 2023 at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali.
Match Details to Note
Match: Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 2nd Match, Indian Premier League 2023
Date: April 01, 2023 (Saturday)
Time: 3:30 PM IST
Venue: Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Punjab Kings (Match Odds – 1.90):
Preview:
Punjab Kings have a batting lineup that includes some of the world’s best T20 players. They finished sixth last season with only seven wins from fourteen games. With one more win, the Kings would have advanced to the playoffs. Under Dhawan’s captaincy, Kings will be eager to turn things around this year.
Jonny Bairstow’s absence will create a significant void in the PBKS batting order this season. Matthew Short is a talented opening batsman who has scored some important runs for the Adelaide Strikers. However, he will most likely fall short of filling in for Baristow in this lineup. Short can get going and find rhythm on the Mohali pitch, which is ideal for batting.
Other pitches in India may present difficulties for the Australian batsman. Bhanuka Rajapaksa hasn’t been in touch in a long time. He was impressive in his early appearances for the Kings, but he fell short on the international stage.
In this lineup, Shikhar Dhawan and Livingstone will be the primary scorers. The batting-friendly surface would allow Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, and Sam Curran to play their natural game and contribute quickly to the total.
Rabada, along with Arshdeep Singh, will continue to lead Punjab Kings’ bowling attack. Rahul Chahar is a key wicket-taker to keep an eye on in the PBKS squad.
Full Squad:
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shahrukh Khan, Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh
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Players to watch out for:
Shikhar Dhawan
Only Virat Kohli has more IPL runs than Punjab Kings captain. He has the most fours of any player in the competition’s history.
Sam Curran
In the 2022 T20 World Cup, the short left-handed batting and bowling all-rounder was named Player of the Series. He has a natural ability to create strokes.
Arshdeep Singh
The left-arm pace bowler had a strong start to international cricket last year, taking 28 wickets in the previous two IPLs.
Possible Playing XI:
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Harpreet Brar, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar
Kolkata Knight Riders (Match Odds – 2.00):
Preview:
The injury to Shreyas Iyer has resulted in a captaincy change in the KKR camp. Previously, when Iyer was the DC captain, an injury allowed Rishabh Pant to take over as captain. Iyer struggled to get back into the side after that and was eventually let go. Nitish Rana will lead the team until Iyer is fit to play, giving him an excellent opportunity to demonstrate his leadership abilities.
KKR has an excellent overall squad with a good balance in all departments. Venkatesh Iyer, Rana, and Rinku Singh are among the young and talented players who must lead KKR’s batting effort.
Rinku Singh demonstrated his big-hitting abilities last season and will most likely be named to the XI for this match. Shakib Al Hasan has returned to KKR after missing the previous season. This time, Hasan has brought along Liton Das, a Bangladeshi teammate who is an attacking opening batsman. The wicket-keeping department has changed drastically since last season, with KKR losing Billings, Indrajith, and Sheldon Jackson.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, N Jagadeesan, and Liton Das are all excellent options for the wicket-keeper batsman.
David Wiese has replaced Mohammad Nabi as the bowling all-rounder, and this is a significant change. KKR has added more variety to their bowling attack this year, as well as Shardul Thakur.
Full Squad:
Nitish Rana (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N. Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan
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Players to watch out for:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Afghanistan’s opener comes from a generation of players who only know how to attack in this format. He has yet to play in the IPL and will be looking forward to making an impression in this game.
Shardul Thakur
In recent years, the bowling all-rounder has established himself as a consistent international performer for India. In his IPL career, he has 82 wickets.
Lockie Ferguson
The New Zealand right-arm fast bowler has had injury issues in recent years, but he is free of niggles and injuries for this game.
Possible Playing XI:
Mandeep Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Shakib Al Hasan, N Jagadeesan (wk), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, David Wiese, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Top Team Batsmen
Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and Sam Curran are our batting picks for Punjab Kings. Rajapaksa, who has a top T20 score of 100, will look to attack from the first ball and will bat at the top of the order. Curran has nine T20 half-centuries to his name, with a strike rate of 132.19.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, and Nitish Rana are our batting options for the Kolkata Knight Riders. In Shreyas Iyer’s absence, Rana will captain the team, and he has 15 IPL half-centuries. Venkatesh had a 41.11 average in the 2021 IPL.
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Top Team Bowlers
Our bowling options for Punjab Kings are Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar, and Nathan Ellis. Ellis has taken over 100 T20 wickets but has only appeared in five IPL games. Chahar has 57 IPL wickets in his career and is a very consistent leg-spinner.
We like Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, and Varun Chakravarthy for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Chakravarthy took 35 wickets in the 2020 and 2021 competitions and will be looking to start the IPL on a high note. Southee is a seasoned T20 player who ranks second all-time in IT20 wicket taking.
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Head to Head
The Kolkata Knight Riders lead the overall head-to-head 30-20 and won the only meeting between the teams in 2022. That game was also played on April 1st, and the Kings were defeated by six wickets.
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Head to Head Stats in IPL
| Matches Played | PBKS Won | KKR Won | Tie | NR | |
| Overall | 30 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Last 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Toss Prediction
On this ground, teams batting second have won 32 of the 56 domestic T20 matches. At this venue, IPL teams have chased scores of 180. Both teams have some big-impact players on their rosters, with KKR featuring some experienced finishers. If they win the toss, both captains would prefer to bowl first.
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Pitch Report
Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium is the venue for this match. It is Punjab Kings’ home ground, and the average first innings score in domestic T20s here is 166 runs. The average first innings score in the six T20Is played here was 183 runs, with the team batting second winning four of these games.
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Until the 1990s, the pitch was a haven for fast bowlers. It has since slowed and become much more favorable for batting. On match day in Mohali, scattered thunderstorms are expected, with a high of 23 degrees Celsius.
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Prediction
Despite finishing in the middle of the table last year, both teams were involved in a number of exciting and entertaining matches throughout the tournament. We anticipate a competitive match with neither team running away with the game too early. Overall, we believe the Punjab Kings have more match-winners with both the bat and the ball. Punjab Kings are expected to win. Check out the odds at Cricbaba!
Punjab Kings is the favourite to beat Kolkata Knight Riders at the odds of 1.90.
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Most Recommended Player for Bet:
Shikhar Dhawan has 6244 runs in his IPL career and is our pick to be Punjab Kings’ highest run scorer against Kolkata Knight Riders.
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