Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be locking horns with each other in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on April 1 at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. If PBKS is the perennial duds of the IPL, then KKR, too, have been equally inconsistent in the last couple of seasons. Ahead of the IPL 2023, both Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders are on the same boat ahead.
With key players either missing by injuries or unavailability, the team management will be scratching their heads to find a balanced playing XI in the first game on the double-header Saturday.
Both the teams have new captains; Shikhar Dhawan will be the Punjab franchise’s 14th skipper in the sixteenth year of this tournament, whereas Nitish Rana has been appointed stand-in skipper by Kolkata as their regular skipper Shreyas Iyer is recovering from a back injury that is likely to sideline him for at least the first half of IPL 2023.
#3 Shikhar Dhawan vs Umesh Yadav
PBKS opener Shikhar Dhawan and KKR fast bowler, Umesh Yadav are bound to face each other as they start the proceedings in their respective departments. Notably, Yadav (55) is among only five bowlers with 50 or more wickets in the powerplay overs in IPL. However, he has only dismissed Dhawan once in 14 encounters. The PBKS skipper boasts a strike rate of 118.75 in this battle.
#2 Nitish Rana vs Rahul Chahar
KKR’s stand-in skipper Nitish Rana will be facing a stiff challenge against Rahul Chahar’s leg spin in the middle overs. Notably, the left-handed batter has fallen prey to leggies 18 times in 45 IPL innings. Moreover, Chahar has dismissed him a couple of times in just three meetings in the competition. Rana has amassed 25 runs against him off 19 deliveries. His strike rate reads 131.57 in this battle.
#1 Andre Russell vs Arshdeep Singh
Over the last couple of years, Arshdeep Singh has emerged as a dependable bowler in slogs overs of the shortest format of the game. However, tackling the fiery all-rounder, Andre Russell in that phase would take some beating. The KKR star owns 16 runs off six deliveries against Arshdeep in the slog overs. The left-arm fast bowler has dismissed him once. Russell boasts an IPL strike rate of 197.19 in the final five overs.
