PBKS vs KKR Highlights, IPL 2023: Punjab Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 runs as per DLS method

The focus will also be on Lockie Fergusson, who is doubtful for the team's first match against Punjab Kings. As per a PTI report, the Kiwi quick had injured his right hamstring last week.

Like their opponent, KKR also heavily rely on their all-rounders. They have the likes of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, David Weise, Venkatesh Iyer and Shakib Al Hasan in their camp.

In fact in Russell, Wiese, Rinku Singh and Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the franchise have some terrific hard-hitters, who can rip apart any bowling attack on their given day.

Ahead of the match, KKR's new captain Rana said, " don't follow anyone's captaincy style, I just want to captain in my manner. I know that if I follow someone, then I will lose my touch. So I want to lead this side the only way I know."

Bangladesh players Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das are not available for selection as they are engaged with national duties.

Punjab Kings have never won the IPL title in the last 15 years. 

The closest they ever came to the silverware was a final appearance in 2014 and and semi-final defeat in the inaugural edition.

However, going into the new season the franchise will hope to win their maiden trophy.

Punjab Kings is stacked with all-rounders, with Sam Curran being the most lethal.

If we look at the PBKS squad Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Raj Bawa can make effective contribution in both departments.

“Shahrukh (Khan) looks in good form, he is hitting the ball well and hard.”- PBKS coach Trevor Bayliss

Despite having a good reputation in the domestic circuit, if we look at Shahrukh's career graph in IPL, he has not been unable to live up to the hype.

He has managed 270 runs in the 18th innings he has played so far at a strike-rate of 121.62.   

While Jonny Bairstow is ruled out, Punjab Kings will miss the services of Kagiso Rabada, who is currently on national duty.

Liam Livingstone too isn't available for selection and will join the squad after a delay since he could not get fitness clearance from ECB.

With Brendon McCullum parting ways with KKR, the franchise roped in Chandrakant Pandit as their new coach. 

Pandit comes with a reputation of being one of the best coaches in domestic circuit. He has led Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh to Ranji Trophy titles.

Matthew Short is an uncapped Australian cricketer, who specialises in batting but can also chip in with some off-spin. He was the Player of the Tournament in the recent edition of BBL. He finished as the second-highest run-getter, where he amassed 458 runs with a strike-rate of 144.47. 

Short also slammed a ton during the course of the tournament. He scored an unbeaten 100 in 230-run chase to beat Hobart Hurricanes.

With the ball, Short scalped 11 wickets at an economy of 7.13. 

Short is an all-format player and has three centuries across first-class and List A cricket under his name.

Punjab Kings endured a major blow ahead of the season as star batter Jonny Bairstow was ruled out of the tournament. 

The franchise have replaced him with another explosive batter in Matthew Short, who comes into the IPL after a dream Big Bash League outing.

Punjab Kings have never won the Indian Premier League and will pin their hopes on senior batter and skipper Shikhar Dhawan.

They also have a great all-rounder in Sam Curran, who was brought for ₹18.50 crore, making him the most expensive player in IPL history.

Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada have all the abilities to form a deadly combo with the new ball.

The match also gives both revamped franchise to test their squad heading into the grueling tournament. 

Both teams also have new captains with Delhi-based cricketers Nitish Rana and Shikhar Dhawan.

This is the first time Nitish Rana will be leading a franchise in the lucrative T20 league.

He replaces Shreyas Iyer at the helm, who is likely to be out of action for the entire league due to a recurring lower back injury, which could require surgery.

As per an update by our reporter, PCA is leaving no stone unturned in bracing up for any kind of situation and has doled out a full force of groundsmen and put in place the best drainage facilities to combat wet conditions.

The weather in Mohali is expected to be clear, but rain could play spoilsport during the match with 80 50 percent precipitation is expected. The temperature will be around 14-25 degrees Celsius.

1. KKR (141/4) beat PBKS (137) by 6 wickets - April 1, 2022

2. PBKS (168/5) beat KKR (165/7) by 5 wickets - October 1, 2021

3. KKR (126/5) beat PBKS (123/9) by 5 wickets - April 26, 2021

4. PBKS (150/2) beat KKR (149/9) by 8 wickets - October 26, 2020

5. KKR (164/6) beat PBKS (162/5) by 2 runs - October 10, 2020

KKR lead 20-10 vs PBKS in head-to-head in IPL. They met only once in IPL 2022, where KKR bagged a six-wicket win. Meanwhile, KKR also have a 4-3 lead in their head-to-head vs PBKS in Mohali. The last time Mohali held a PBKS vs KKR game, it was in 2019. KKR won by seven wickets.

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Raj Bawa, Nathan Ellis, Baltej Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Atharva Taide, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh

Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, N Jagadeesan, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy, Umesh Yadav, David Wiese, Mandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Kulwant Khejroliya, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma

Hello and good morning everyone! Welcome to our live coverage of today's IPL 2023 match between PBKS and KKR, straight from Mohali. Stay tuned folks!