In match number 2 of IPL 2023, the Punjab Kings will be hosting the Kolkata Knight Riders in the afternoon game on Saturday, April 1st, at 3.30 PM at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
Both the teams have new captains for this season, though for different reasons: PBKS appointed Shikhar Dhawan as their new skipper after releasing Mayank Agarwal, while the KKR were forced to pick up an interim captain – Nitish Rana – after Shreyas Iyer’s back injury.
Which players are unavailable for PBKS vs KKR?
For this clash, both teams will also be missing a few key overseas stars. For KKR, Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan are due to play in the Test match against Ireland, while there is uncertainty around the fitness of fast bowler Lockie Ferguson and he’s likely to miss this match.
As for PBKS, they have already replaced the injured Jonny Bairstow with Matthew Short, the Australian all-rounder who could make his IPL debut right away. All-rounder Liam Livingstone is set to miss this match as he is yet to get a fitness clearance from the ECB after recovering from a knee injury.
Punjab will also be without Kagiso Rabada in their first match as Rabada will be playing South Africa’s crucial Super League two ODIs vs Netherlands.
IPL 2023 PBKS vs KKR Match 2 Predicted XI:
Punjab Kings predicted XI:
Shikhar Dhawan (C), Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa/Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Harpreet Brar/Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar
Kolkata Knight Riders predicted XI:
Venkatesh Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Nitish Rana (c), Mandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee/Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
PBKS vs KKR Match Prediction: who will win the match?
We are predicting for Punjab Kings to win the Match 2 of IPL 2023 against Kolkata Knight Riders.
PBKS look are more balanced side with a variety in bowling options as well as their players have shown better form in recent times than the KKR players. While KKR are heavily dependent on the all-round faculties of Russell, PBKS have a number of match-winners who could turn the game on its head on their own.
Kolkata Knight Riders squad for IPL 2023:
Nitish Rana (c), Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Tim Southee, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Vaibhav Arora, N Jagadeesan, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan, Shreyas Iyer (injured and doubtful)
Punjab Kings squad for IPL 2023:
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza, Shahrukh Khan, Mohit Rathee, Harpreet Brar, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Baltej Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Raj Bawa, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Singh, Vidhwath Kaverappa
