In IPL 2023, the Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will face off in the opening round. These two clubs look to be somewhat weaker than the other teams this season in many aspects, thus this early game may prove to be very important for them.
The odds for the two sides are now being provided quite similarly, with the Punjab Kings being the small favourite. Let’s take a deeper look at each club to determine who has a higher probability of winning the game.
IPL 2023 matchup between PBKS and KKR match prediction and cricket betting advice. On April 1st 2023, the game will take place at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
PUNJAB KINGS
While the Punjab Kings had a talented team for the IPL 2022 season, they ultimately missed the playoffs after winning only seven of their 14 games. The team hasn’t changed much from last year, but Sam Curran’s return has made a significant impact.
In reality, the Punjab Kings’ starting lineup might include Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, and Kagiso Rabada with Bhanuka Rajapaksa or Matthew Short as the fourth international player. There is no doubt that Jonny Bairstow’s exclusion from the IPL 2023 is a significant blow.
Moreover, PBKS features a respectable group of Indian players. Shikhar Dhawan will serve as the team’s captain and its primary batter, with Arshdeep Singh now serving as India’s go-to T20 international player. In fact, there isn’t quite enough of an Indian batter in the top order.
Jitesh Sharma was excellent with the bat and as a wicketkeeper, but for Punjab Kings to be a batting power, Shahrukh Khan or Harpreet Singh Bhatia will need to step up their game. The fact that several of PBKS’s key players appear to be on a downward trend may be cause for concern for the squad and something to keep in mind as bettors.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Shreyas Iyer won’t be available for the most of the IPL 2023 season, which dealt KKR a severe setback in the months leading up to the tournament (perhaps all of it). It eliminates their greatest batter, who is the only one for whom they actually have a backup. In fact, Iyer’s absence may require KKR to alter the composition of their whole lineup.
At now, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, and Andre Russell appear to be set in the starting eleven. Under normal conditions, we believe KKR would have selected one foreign bowler (likely Ferguson) and another foreign all-rounder (Shakib Al Hasan or David Wiese).
Yet, they could now be required to start both all-rounders rather than the sole bowler. They will have more depth as a result in the batting and bowling areas. For KKR, the remaining holes will be filled by N Jagadeesan, Shardul Thakur, Nitish Rana, Umesh Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy.
This roster does not fully persuade us. Yes, they have outstanding foreign players who can win matches, but the Indian contingent feels stale. Almost all of the Indian players for KKR have played and been average throughout the bulk of their IPL careers. It would be foolish to count on that changing.
Today Match Prediction
Toss Winner : Punjab
Match Winner : After Toss