breaking news Kkr to face Pbks in Mohali to kick off Ipl 2023 campaign

KKR will embark on this campaign under new skipper Nitish Rana. The two-time IPL champions face the absence of their regular captain Shreyas Iyer, who is currently nursing a back injury.

Like KKR, PBKS also has a new captain at the helm. After the team offloaded Mayank Agarwal ahead of the IPL 2023 mini-auction, veteran drummer Shikhar Dhawan was promoted to team captain.

Punjab also start their campaign with some injury worries. The team will miss their star Englishman Jonny Bairstow as he is expected to miss the season through injury. Bairstow’s compatriot, middle power Liam Livingstone is also expected to be sidelined with a fitness issue for the first few games.

They hope their versatile overseas duo of Sikandar Raza and Sam Curran deliver comprehensively in all departments until Livingstone returns to the setup.

But all eyes will be on Curran as he returns to the Punjab fold after becoming the league’s most expensive player.

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IPL 2023 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings Scheduled Game XI

PBK: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, , Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar.

KKR: N Jagadeesan (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy.

Key player to watch

Shikhar Dhawan (PBKS)

Shikhar Dhawan scored 460 points in 14 games with an average of 38.33 last season. He will take on greater responsibility at bat in the absence of Bairstow and Livingstone and will have to wear the mantle of a rather inexperienced middle order.

The PCA stadium track is such that it will benefit flawless running players like Dhawan and he can set Punjab up for a good score on the board if they build momentum and get into the power play .

Andre Russell (KKR)

The versatile Caribbean player will be the glue that keeps KKR’s batting order together. It can both anchor sleeves and add finishing touches as needed. Likewise, he can play at a good pace in all phases of the innings and Rana can also pick his brains for leadership at crucial moments in the game. KKR cuts a worn look in Iyer’s absence and Russell will have to shoulder more control over the batting unit in this case.

Presentation report

The average first-inning batting score at PCA Stadium is 168 runs, suggesting a fairly high-scoring encounter is on the table Saturday.

Where to watch live:

The match kicks off at 3:30 p.m. IST and will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network. Online viewers can also tune in to the action via the Jio Cinema app.