Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders IPL Tips

Tip Summary

• Punjab Kings will be playing under the new captain Shikhar Dhawan as the team released Mayank Agarwal from the squad before the auction.
• Kolkata Knight Riders also have a change in leadership as their skipper Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out due to injury.
• KKR are leading the head-to-head records by a good margin as they have scored a win in as many as 20 games while Punjab have ten victories to their name. 

Kolkata Knight Riders will be kick-starting their campaign in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League with a battle against Punjab Kings. The two teams are all set to square off against each other at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on April 01, Tuesday. 

Both teams are coming into the tournament with some massive changes. Following a torrid run last year, Punjab Kings decided to let go of their skipper Mayank Agarwal and trusted the veteran Shikhar Dhawan to lead the side. The franchise also released Odean Smith and Sandeep Sharma from the squad while they made some big picks in the IPL 2023 mini-auction.

The 2014 finalists shelled out a whopping INR 18.5 crores to gain the services of the English all-rounder Sam Curran for the 2023 season. Punjab ended up with seven wins and as many losses in the 14 league games to finish in sixth place in the points table. The team lacked consistency last year as they lost every alternate game.

As far as Kolkata Knight Riders are concerned, they were also no better with six victories under their belt from 14 league matches. With 12 points, the team finished its campaign in seventh place. Both the bowlers and batters failed to live up to their reputations.

The team was hoping for redemption in the 2023 season as they made full use of the trade window. Kolkata brought Shardul Thakur into the team after trading him from Delhi Capitals while Lockie Ferguson and Rahmanullah Gurbaz were traded from Gujarat Titans. However, they have been dealt with a massive blow as their skipper Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out due to injury. 

In the absence of Iyer, the management is trusting the senior batter Nitish Rana to take them through in the game. Meanwhile, the head-to-head records between Kolkara Knight Riders and Punjab Kings state domination of the former. KKR have won three of their last five games against Shikhar Dhawan & Men. 

3 beneficial player bets for PBKS vs KKR Match 02 Indian Premier League 2023 Match