PBKS vs KKR 2nd Match Prediction

PBKS vs KKR Team Previews

Punjab Kings

The Punjab Kings had a strong squad for IPL 2022 but they eventually missed out on the playoffs after winning just seven of their 14 matches. The squad remains pretty similar to last season but with a big addition now that Sam Curran is back in the lineup. 

In fact, 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. 

Jitesh Sharma was very good with the bat and as a keeper but Shahrukh Khan or Harpreet Singh Bhatia will have to raise their game to the next level for Punjab Kings to be a batting force. Perhaps a point of concern for the team, and something to remember as bettors, is that some of PBKS's big players seem to be on a downtrend. 

Shikhar Dhawan is nearing the end of his career, Rahul Chahar has struggled after his initial success in the IPL, and the youngsters they have invested in have not really stepped up so far. A solid core of overseas players with crucial Indian pieces missing.

Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR suffered a massive blow in the lead-up to IPL 2023 when it found out that Shreyas Iyer is not going to be available for the majority of the season (perhaps all of it). That takes away their best batter for whom they do not really have a backup. In fact, Iyer'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. We have seen almost all of the KKR Indian players play and be middling for the majority of their IPL careers. To expect that to change is fool-hardy. 

KKR will win some matches because it is bound to uncover some match-winning performances along the line but we can see IPL 2023 being a big struggle for it.