Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face off at the PCA IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Saturday in the second match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and will be desperate to start well. Both franchises have new captains this year, but the biggest worry for them in their opening match is the unavailability of several key members.
Shikhar Dhawan, the second-highest run-getter in the history of the IPL, will be leading PBKS this season after last year’s captain Mayank Agarwal was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the mini-auction late last year. KKR’s captaincy change is, however, a forced one with regular captain Shreyas Iyer out injured. Iyer had aggravated his back issue during the last Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia last month, which sidelined him for the IPL. He was reportedly advised surgery.
IPL 2023 Full Coverage | IPL 2023 Schedule | IPL 2023 Results | IPL Orange Cap | IPL Purple Cap
Iyer, however, has apparently deferred his decision to undergo surgery and KKR are hoping that he will play a part at some part of the current season. In Iyer’s absence, Nitish Rana has been made the captain of the Kolkata side. However, the belief is that seasoned coach Chadrakant Pandit, who has a pretty impressive bio data in domestic cricket, will be the puppeteer in the KKR dugouts and Rana, who is relatively inexperienced in terms of captaincy, will only be required to implement Pandit’s decisions.
On paper, PBKS are a tad stronger than their Kolkata counterparts. Apart from Dhawan, the Mohali outfit will get the services of their Rs 18.25 crore purchase Sam Curran. The England allrounder, the ‘Player of the Series’ in the ICC World T20 last year, became the most expensive player in IPL history after PBKS went all guns blazing to rope him in during the mini-auction.
Hard-hitting Jonny Bairstow will, however, be missing owing to the leg injury that he suffered last year while playing golf. The England wicketkeeper-batsman has been ruled out for the entire tournament. In his place, PBKS have brought in the Big Bash League’s ‘Player of the Tournament’ Matthew Short, who is expected to open the innings with Dhawan. PBKS will also be missing the services of South African pace ace Kagiso Rabada, who is on national duty. Also, England’s Liam Livingstone, who sustained a knee injury, is yet to get England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) clearance to take part in the IPL.
Also read – IPL 2023: Is Nitish Rana the Right Man to Lead Kolkata Knight Riders?
In the absence of Rabada, the PBKS bowling will have to be shouldered by the promising Arshdeep Singh, Curran, Rishi Dhawan and Rahul Chahar. Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza will add depth to the side.
For KKR, the biggest absentees will be the Bangladeshi duo of Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das, both away on national duty. New Zealand pacer Lockie Fergusson, who is nursing a hamstring injury, may also be missing.
The Kolkata side will depend heavily on the West Indies allrounders Andre Russell and Sunil Narine to do the job. At 177.88, Russell has the highest strike rate in the IPL and is handy with the ball too. Narine was the ‘Player of the Tournament’ during KKR’s triumphant campaign in 2012 casting a spell with his spin. He set the stage on fire with his hitting when he was promoted to open for the first time in the 2017 edition of the IPL.
Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Shardul Thakur will lead the bowling attack along with Narine and Russell. The batting needs to be helmed by Russell, David Weise, Vernkatesh Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rinku Singh.
The head-to-head equation is heavily stacked in favour of KKR, with the Kolkata side winning 20 out of the 30 matches. PBKS have won the remaining 10. KKR are ahead in terms of titles won too, having won in 2012 and 2014. PBKS’ best result was in 2014 when they were edged out by KKR in the final. However, on Saturday in Mohali, there will be everything to play for.
Get the latest Cricket News here
Comments
0 comment