PBKS vs KKR IPL Prediction 01 Apr 2023

The IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali will host the second game of IPL 2023, where the Punjab Kings will face off against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday. It will be the first match for both teams in the tournament.

• Shikhar Dhawan will be the 14th captain of the Punjab Kings, while Nitish Rana has been appointed as the skipper of KKR.
• The Kings finished 6th last season the Knight Riders ended up one spot below them at seventh in the 10-team competition.
• However, both teams face the challenge of dealing with injuries and the unavailability of some foreign players, which will limit their choices.

PBKS vs KKR – IPL – Venue Details

Venue: PCA IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali

Date: April 1st 2023

Time: 15:30 (local)

PBKS vs KKR – IPL – Team Previews

Punjab Kings

PBKS have not made the playoffs since 2014, but they have a promising start this year, having secured Sam Curran with a record-breaking bid at the auction. However, they will miss the services of Jonny Bairstow, who has been ruled out of the entire IPL due to a leg injury he sustained while playing golf last September.

To fill the void left by Bairstow, PBKS have brought in Matthew Short, the player-of-the-tournament of BBL’s recent season, who is expected to open the batting alongside captain Shikhar Dhawan. Livingstone and Rabada will miss the first game after not receiving clearances from their respective boards.

In Rabada’s absence, Australian quick Nathan Ellis could take the overseas fast bowler’s spot, while Curran and Arshdeep Singh are likely to form a formidable death-overs combination. To replace Livingstone as an all-rounder, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza could be brought in.

Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata Knight Riders had a disappointing season last year, finishing in seventh place with only six wins in 14 games. Adding to their woes, captain Shreyas Iyer will miss the first few games of the season due to injury, and Nitish Rana has been appointed as captain in his absence.

However, it’s been reported that the new coach Chandrakant Pandit, along with Abhishek Nayar, will be making all the decisions from the dugout, leaving Rana to simply implement them. KKR will also be without two of their key players, Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das, who are unavailable due to national commitments.

KKR’s strength lies in their all-rounders, boasting a talented roster that includes Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and David Weise. In the opening game, KKR might opt for either Rahmanullah Gurbaz or N Jagadeesan to open the batting, both of whom can double up as wicketkeeper.

Lockie Ferguson is expected to start ahead of Tim Southee as the overseas seamer, while Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine will handle the spin-bowling duties.

PBKS vs KKR – IPL – Probable Playing XI’s

Punjab Kings: SH Dhawan (Cap), Prabhsimran Singh, BK Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, S Curran, SK Raza, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar

Kolkata Knight Riders: Venky Iyer, N Jadgadeesan, Nitish Rana (Cap), Mandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, AN Russell, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora

PBKS vs KKR – IPL – Pitch Report and Toss Prediction

The pitch on offer for the upcoming match is a balanced one, which means that batters will need to take some time to settle in before playing their shots with ease. Spinners may play an important role during the middle overs of the game.

PBKS vs KKR – IPL – Win Prediction

Punjab Kings have the home advantage and the pitch will offer good bounce and the long boundaries will suit their bowlers. We expect a winning start for Shikhar Dhawan’s team in IPL 2023.