In their IPL 2023 match against Punjab Kings in Mohali, Kolkata Knight Riders may start with this lineup.
In the second game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Saturday at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, Shikhar Dhawan’s Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be captained by Nitish Rana in place of their normal captain Shreyas Iyer, who is out with a back injury. Rana, who is the team’s new captain, would be hoping for a victory over Punjab so that his team can win their season. (PBKS vs. KKR Live Score IPL 2023)
Two-time champions KKR have made some solid additions ahead of the next season after placing seventh on the IPL 2022 points chart. Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz were acquired through trades, while Shakib Al Hasan, David Wiese, and Narayan Jagadeesan were acquired in the IPL auction. In addition, the KKR leadership will be hoping that Chandrakant Pandit, a well-known coach in Indian domestic cricket, would help lead the side back to its former heights.
The amount of high-caliber all-rounders in the KKR roster is its greatest strength. On any given day, players like Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Shakib Al Hasan, David Wiese, and Venkatesh Iyer can all take the game by storm with their bat or ball skills.
But, because captain Shreyas Iyer is all but guaranteed to miss the competition, their batting is severely hindered. KKR lacks a reliable middle-order batsman who can produce consistently throughout the season despite having great players like Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, and Mandeep Singh. They don’t have anyone who can score more than 400 runs in a season, at least not on paper.
As always, for KKR to have a chance of making the playoffs, their West Indian duo must be at their absolute best. In the league with plenty of cash, Russell has a strike rate of 177 and Narine has a strike rate of 162. The team will anticipate that the duo will continue to assist KKR win games with the bat this season as they have in the past. Sunil Narine, a spin magician, enters the IPL 2023 with an economy rate of less than six after playing more than 400 T20 matches globally. Even though he didn’t take many wickets the previous season, he was outstanding with the ball, and he will once again be a force to be reckoned with.
Thakur and Russell both have a propensity to give up runs in the last few overs, which could pose another issue for KKR while death bowling, especially if Lockie Ferguson is sidelined for the opening game due to injury.
KKR’s expected lineup against PBKS
Openers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mandeep Singh
Middle Order: Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh
All-Rounders: Andre Russel, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Venkatesh Iyer
Bowlers: Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
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