The 2nd match of IPL 2023 is a contest between Shikhar Dhawan-led Punjab Kings and Nitish Rana-led Kolkata Knight Riders will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium and would begin at 3:30 P.M. IST.
IPL 2023 Match Prediction: PBKS vs KKR
Punjab reached the IPL top four only twice, in 2008 and 2014, where they finished up as runners-up in the latter against Kolkata Knight Riders held in M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. In 2022, they stood 6th on the points table out of the 10 teams. Kolkata Knight Riders are one of the most successful IPL teams as they bagged the trophy twice. Their first trophy came in 2012 after defeating the Chennai Super Kings and then surpassed Kings XI Punjab in 2014 to win the trophy for the second time! In 2022, they were in position 7th on the points table.
Who Will Win Today’s Match?
The pitch of the stadium initially helped the fast bowlers, but, over years, it has become batter friendly pitch, helping to put huge totals on the board. The T20 and IPL matches have seen the chasing team win most of their matches. At the start of April, the weather is hot with temperatures rising to 40 degrees celsius and becoming cooler, later in the month.
Head to Head IPL Records
Since the beginning of IPL, Punjab Kings had fought against Kolkata Knight Riders in 30 matches, where the result was in the latter’s favour 20 times against Punjab winning the rest 10 matches!
| PUNJAB KINGS | KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS | |
| WINS | 10 | 20 |
| LOST | 20 | 10 |
| NO RESULT | 0 | 0 |
| AVERAGE RUNS | 157.8 | 160.6 |
| MAXIMUM RUNS | 214 | 245 |
| MINIMUM RUNS | 119 | 79 |
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Probable Best Performers
Punjab Kings Batters
| PLAYER’S NAME | MATCHES | RUNS | AVERAGE |
| Prabhsimran Singh | 6 | 64 | 10.67 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 206 | 6243 | 34.88 |
| Bhanuka Rajapaksa | 10 | 206 | 20.6 |
| Shahrukh Khan | 19 | 270 | 19.24 |
| Jitesh Sharma | 12 | 234 | 29.25 |
Having a look at the batters of Punjab Kings, the skipper Shikhar Dhawan and wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma give high hopes due to the former’s experience and the latter’s average. Bhanuka Rajapaksa also scored his highest individual score of 43 in 22 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2022.
Kolkata Knight Riders Batters
| PLAYER’S NAME | MATCHES | RUNS | AVERAGE |
| Venkatesh Iyer | 22 | 52 | 27.6 |
| Nitish Rana | 91 | 2181 | 27.96 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 71 | 793 | 19.8 |
| Andre Russell | 98 | 2035 | 30.37 |
| N Jagadeesan | 7 | 73 | 24.33 |
| Rinku Singh | 17 | 15 | 20.91 |
From the statistics, the skipper Nitish Rana is one of the probable best players as he has good control over his batting skills and has impressed in the past. The other choice is the muscle man Andre Russell who always leaves the crowd astounded with his massive sixes!
Punjab Kings Bowlers
| PLAYER’S NAME | MATCHES | WICKETS | ECONOMY |
| Sam Curran | 32 | 32 | 9.21 |
| Harpreet Brar | 6 | 4 | 5.5 |
| Nathan Ellis | 5 | 4 | 8.35 |
| Rahul Chahar | 55 | 57 | 7.71 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 37 | 40 | 8.35 |
The bowling grid of Punjab looks great as they have bowlers who have worked wonderfully in the previous seasons. The probable best bowler could be Arshdeep Singh as he has a pretty good experience at a young age. Also, Nathan Ellis is another ray of hope as he became the first cricketer to take a hat trick in his debut T20.
Kolkata Knight Riders Bowlers
| PLAYER’S NAME | MATCHES | WICKETS | ECONOMY |
| Shardul Thakur | 75 | 82 | 9.06 |
| Sunil Narine | 148 | 152 | 6.63 |
| Umesh Yadav | 133 | 135 | 8.37 |
| Varun Chakravarthy | 42 | 42 | 7.23 |
| Lockie Ferguson | 35 | 36 | 8.43 |
Undoubtedly, Kolkata has one of the most impressive bowling combination as it has one of the most experienced players. The probable star player of the day is Varun Chakravarthy who had turned the tables around for KKR in many matches! Another bowler is none other than Sunil Narine who’s well versed with the skills.
Probable Playing XI:
PBKS Probable playing XI:-
Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (C), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar and Arshdeep Singh
KKR Probable playing XI:-
Venkatesh Iyer, N Jagadeesan (wk), Nitish Rana (C), Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy.
Considering all the stats and records, it looks like Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to take over Punjab Kings in the 2nd match.
