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. Both teams would want to make a winning start to their tournament as they were not able to qualify for the playoffs in 2022. The Kings have a new leader in Shikhar Dhawan. The veteran India batter has captained the national side on quite a few occasions and has done a decent job.
In the previous season, Punjab Kings ended at the sixth spot on the points table with 7 wins in 14 games whereas the Kolkata Knight Riders finished at the seventh position with 6 wins in 14 matches. For the Kolkata Knight Riders, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Shakib Al Hasan are among the crucial players.
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On the other hand, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, and Kagiso Rabada are among the crucial cogs in the Punjab Kings squad. In the 30 head-to-head games between these two sides, KKR won 20 while PBKS managed to win the remaining 10. Another exciting contest is anticipated here between these two sides on Saturday.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
PBKS will be dearly missing Jonny Bairstow during to injury. The likes of Sikandar Raza and Sam Curran provide brilliant stability to their XI. Sam Curran in particular will be the key player for Punjab. The England all-rounder has been in sensational form in T20 cricket of late.
Probable XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar
Impact players: Rishi Dhawan, Raj Angad Bawa, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Shivam Singh.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
KKR will not be having the services of their regular skipper, Shreyas Iyer as he is suffering a back injury. Nitish Rana is the stand-in captain. Venkatesh Iyer will have a key role to play after the two seniors, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. With the ball, Tim Southee will lead the pack alongside Umesh Yadav.
Probable XI: Venkatesh Iyer, Narayan Jadgadeesan, Nitish Rana (c), Mandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora
Impact players: Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy, Kulwant Khejroliya, Suyash Sharma.
Fantasy XI Suggestion 1:
Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan (vc), Shahrukh Khan, Venkatesh Iyer, Sam Curran (c), Sikandar Raza, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora
Fantasy XI Suggestion 2:
Jitesh Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Nitish Rana, Mandeep Singh, Shahrukh Khan, Andre Russell (vc), Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Nathan Ellis, Umesh Yadav, Rahul Chahar
