PBKS vs KKR Match Preview
the Punjab Kings could have Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, and Kagiso Rabada in the lineup with the fourth overseas player either Bhanuka Rajapaksa or Matthew Short. Jonny Bairstow has been ruled out of IPL 2023 and that is certainly a big loss.
PBKS also has a pretty decent set of Indian players. Shikhar Dhawan will lead the squad as captain and as their main batter while Arshdeep Singh has now developed into India's regular T20 international. If anything, there is a bit of a lack of a top-order Indian batter.
yer's absence could force KKR to make some changes to their entire team balance.
As things stand, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Venkatesh Iyer seem to be locked into the playing eleven. In normal circumstances, we think KKR would have chosen one overseas bowler (probably Ferguson) and one additional overseas all-rounder (Shakib Al Hasan or David Wiese).
Now, however, they may be forced to bench the outright bowler and pick both all-rounders. That will give them some depth in both the bowling and batting departments. N Jagadeesan, Shardul Thakur, Nitish Rana, Umesh Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy will fill in the rest of the gaps for KKR.
We are not totally convinced by this lineup. Sure, they have brilliant overseas players as match-winners but the Indian contingent seems stale.
Weather Report
There are some clouds expected on match day in Mohali but overall, the weather is not expected to play a major role.
Pitch Report
The IS Bindra Stadium is considered to be a high-scoring one. The average score batting first is 165.6 but the average winning total batting first is 178.9.
Teams will be looking for something close to 180 to be comfortable defending. Also, the average spin-bowling economy rate is 7.7 at this venue while it is 8.1 for the fast bowlers. Teams will look to their spinners to keep the flow of runs in check.
Notable stats
Pace in Punjab
A look at the overall Strike-Rates for the different kinds of bowlers shows that the pace bowlers have done much better. They strike at 21.5 while the spinners strike at 26.5. The economy rate is marginally higher for the pace bowlers but that is more than evened-out in the wickets department. Look to add more pace bowlers in your Dream11 lineup.
Team News
Liam Livingstone appears to not be available for this match for PBKS, a massive loss to them. KKR is without Shreyas Iyer and will struggle to replace him.
PBKS vs KKR Probable 11
PBKS Playing 11
- Shikhar Dhawan (C)
- Matthew Short
- Bhanuka Rajapaksa
- Jitesh Sharma (Wk)
- Sam Curran
- Shahrukh Khan
- Raj Bawa
- Harpreet Brar
- Rahul Chahar
- Arshdeep Singh
- Kagiso Rabada
KKR Playing 11
- Venkatesh Iyer (C)
- N Jagadeesan (Wk)
- Nitish Rana
- Shakib Al Hasan
- Andre Russell
- Mandeep Singh
- Sunil Narine
- Shardul Thakur
- Umesh Yadav
- Lockie Ferguson
- Varun Chakravarthy
Dream11 Prediction
We think the Punjab Kings have the advantage going into this contest against KKR. They have a better-balanced lineup that has some dynamic and in-form all-rounders. In fact, both teams are heavily dependent on their overseas players to do the bulk of the work and so the difference may be made by the Indian contingent.
Once again, this is where the Punjab Kings have the upper hand.
Top Picks
Bhanuka Rajapaksa - He performed well enough in IPL 2022 (206 runs in 9 innings at a strike-rate of 159.7) that he should get a chance in Livingstone's absence. He and Matthew Short could both be value picks for this match.
David Wiese - Easily the most underrated all-rounder in the world. After performing brilliantly in the PSL for many seasons, he has a chance to show what he is capable of in the IPL. He picked up 9 wickets at an economy of under 7.5 and is also very good with the bat later on.
Sam Curran - The most expensive player in the history of the IPL, man of the tournament in the T20 World Cup, and someone who will contribute in all aspects of the game. Must have.
PBKS vs KKR Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: B Rajapaksa, N Jagadeesan
Batters: J Sharma, S Dhawan, N Rana, V Iyer
All-rounders: S Narine, A Russell, M Short (VC), S Curran (C)
Bowlers: A Singh
PBKS vs KKR Dream11 Team 2
Keeper: B Rajapaksa, J Sharma, R Gurbaz
Batters: S Dhawan, N Rana
All-rounders: S Narine, A Russell (VC), S Raza, S Curran (C)
Bowlers: A Singh, N Ellis
