After breaking the IPL record to sign English all-rounder Sam Curran over the winter, the Punjab Kings will be hoping that success comes their way this season.
Having not qualified for the playoff stages since 2014, the addition of Curran alongside Sikandar Raza could see the team from Mohali change that this season.
But up first in 2023 is a difficult test against the Kolkata Knight Riders, another team looking to improve on what was a disappointing campaign last time around.
Below, we take a look at where best to find value in this IPL match up.
PBKS vs KKR odds
As expected, the Punjab Kings have been made slight favourites in their season opener against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Those odds will be largely owing to the addition of Curran but also based of the visitors' poor form last season. They ended up winning just six of 14 matches all last term and with a few early season injury doubts heading into this match up, it's not difficult to see why the bookmakers favour the hosts to make a winning start to the season.
| PBKS win |
KKR win |
|
|---|---|---|
| Dafabet (India) |
1.79 | 2.02 |
PBKS vs KKR match facts
- Date: Saturday, April 2
- Kickoff Time: 15:30 (IST)
- Location: IS Bindra Stadium (Mohali, India)
- Last meeting: Kolkata Knight Riders won by six wickets (April 1, 2022)
PBKS vs KKR team news
Thankfully for their fans, the Punjab Kings come into this season with a near full bill of health. They had been hoping for the return of Jonny Bairstow but given he's due to miss the whole season, the hosts have drafted in Matthew Short as his replacement. Kagiso Rabada and Liam Livingstone will be missing for this clash.
The visitors have been dealt a hefty injury blow however, as captain Shreyas Iyer looks set to miss a substantial amount of this season with a back injury. They have added several players in Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das and David Wiese but the loss of Iyer is potentially disastrous.
PBKS vs KKR prediction
- Score prediction: Punjab Kings to win
Although the Kolkata Knight Riders hold the better head-to-head record in this fixture, we think that the Punjab Kings will win this season opener.
With the exciting addition of Curran mixed with a squad who showed some glimpses of brilliance last season, the hosts should have too much firepower for their opposition on this occasion.
The loss of big hitting Livingstone may cast doubt over that forecast but his omission isn't as detrimental as Kolkata's loss of captain Iyer which could be a telling factor in this clash.
PBKS vs KKR: Best bet
- Pick: Shikhar Dhawan to score over 28.5 runs
- Odds: 1.85 (Dafabet)
With 6244 runs to his name across 206 previous IPL appearances, we're expecting Punjab Kings batsman and captain Shikhar Dhawan to use all his experience here and open the season in style.
At 1.85 with Dafabet to score over 28.5 runs, we feel this could be a nice way to make a tidy bit of profit.
Last season Dhawan managed to get more than 28.5 runs on six occasions through 14 matches, high scoring with 86 vs the Chennai Super Kings. That said, he did only manage 16 runs from 15 balls against the KKR during their last meeting.
PBKS vs KKR: Flier bet
- Pick: Sam Curran to be best bowler
- Odds: 8.50 (Dafabet)
After his record breaking signing over the off-season, why not back Curran to be the best bowler in this match?
As 8.50 odds with Dafabet, this storyline feels set for a fairytale start given the excitement surrounding this second debut for Curran.
The English all-rounder could easily take that accolade in this season opener, especially given his prior record of 32 wickets across 32 prior IPL outings. He's also recently been in solid form with England, as seen during their T20 World Cup victory. In that tournament, Curran took 13 wickets — the second-most in the competition — to become the Player of the Series.
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