Punjab Kings and KKR conflict below new management

Big image: New captains, new coaches

Their squads are additionally lacking key personnel. Punjab are with out Jonny Bairstow for your complete season, and won’t have Liam Livingstone and Kagiso Rabada for his or her first recreation. KKR are with out Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das, who’re on nationwide obligation.

Punjab haven’t made the playoffs since 2014, however like final yr they begin with promise, having purchased Sam Curran with a record-breaking bid on the public sale. KKR, alternatively, needed to put collectively their squad with the smallest purse, after spending some huge cash on pre-auction trades to usher in Shardul Thakur and Lockie Ferguson.

Team news: Livingstone, Shakib unavailable

Having launched Mayank Agarwal, Punjab’s new opener is prone to be one in all Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa or Australia’s Matthew Short, together with Dhawan.

Australian fast Nathan Ellis may take the abroad quick bowler’s spot in Kagiso Rabada’s absence, whereas Curran and Arshdeep Singh are prone to type a formidable death-overs mixture. With Livingstone lacking, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza may fill the all-rounder’s spot.

KKR may open with both Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz or N Jagadeesan – the freshly-minted file holder for the best List-A rating – and both of them can double up as a wicketkeeper too.

Lockie Ferguson has recovered from a hamstring harm and will begin forward of Tim Southee because the abroad seamer, whereas Venkatesh Iyer’s stable run within the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy ought to safe his place. Whether Varun Chakravarthy has recovered sufficient health and type to discover a place stays to be seen, and he’ll compete with Suyash Sharma, a teenage thriller spinner, for a spot.

Toss and Impact Player technique

Punjab Kings

Possible bat-first XI: 1 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 2 Prabhsimran Singh, 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 5 Sikandar Raza, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Rishi Dhawan, 9 Harpreet Brar, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Arshdeep Singh.

If Punjab bat first, they may choose solely three abroad gamers – Rajapaksa, Raza and Curran – and usher in Ellis because the Impact Player for Rajapaksa within the second innings. If they find yourself needing an additional batter within the first innings, they may usher in Raj Bawa for somebody who’s already dismissed and nonetheless have six bowling choices.

Possible bowl-first XI: 1 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 2 Prabhsimran Singh, 3 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 4 Sikandar Raza, 5 Shahrukh Khan, 6 Sam Curran, 7 Rishi Dhawan, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Nathan Ellis, 11 Arshdeep Singh.

If Punjab bowl first, bringing in Rajapaksa because the Impact Player at No. 3 for Ellis or Chahar is a straight swap that strengthens their batting whereas chasing.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Possible bat-first XI: 1 N Jagadeesan, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Venkatesh Iyer, 4 Nitish Rana (capt), 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Shardul Thakur 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Varun Chakravarthy/ Suyash Sharma.

Full of allrounders, KKR bat till No. 8, so they may look to usher in an additional bowler within the second innings.

Possible bowl-first XI: 1 N Jagadeesan (wk), 2 Venkatesh Iyer, 3 Nitish Rana (capt), 4 Rinku Singh, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Shardul Thakur, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Varun Chakravarthy/Suyash Sharma.

If KKR title solely three abroad gamers in the event that they bowl first, they may usher in both Rahmanullah Gurbaz or David Wiese because the Impact Player within the second innings. They may take into account bringing in Wiese within the first innings as properly, if they need an additional bowling choice.

Stats that matter

Pitch and circumstances

Mohali will host an IPL recreation for the primary time since 2019. It has historically been a pace-friendly floor because of the bounce on supply. Rain is anticipated in a single day and likewise on Saturday afternoon.

Quotes

“One of things that we thought was lacking last year was not able to finish off innings with the bat. That was one of the reasons why we decided to go after a young all-rounder like Sam. He gives us a strength in the middle-order and he is a world-class bowler as well.”
Trevor Bayliss on Sam Curran

“I 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.”Nitish Rana, the brand new KKR captain