The first day-game of IPL 2023 will be played between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali on 1st April. Both of these have been underachievers in the last few seasons and they will be determined to prove their mettle.

We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.

Punjab Kings have another new captain-coach pair for the upcoming season. While veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan has been handed the captaincy baton, Trevor Bayliss is the team’s new head coach after Anil Kumble’s contract was not renewed. PBKS doesn’t have a great middle order and it could be their kryptonite.

On the other hand, KKR has already suffered a huge blow as Shreyas Iyer will miss the start of the upcoming season due to a back injury. Nitish Rana will lead in his absence and it will be interesting to note how the youngster will cope with high-pressure situations in the biggest T20 league on the planet.

Head to Head: Matches: 30, Won by KKR: 20, Won by PBKS: 10.

KKR clearly holds a big advantage against PBKS in the head-to-head battle.

Players to watch out for: Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh, Sikandar Raza, and Kagiso Rabada will hold the key for PBKS.

Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, David Wiese, Shakib Al Hasan, and Venkatesh Iyer are going to hold the key for KKR.

PBKS IPL 2023 SQUAD

Wicketkeepers: Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma.

Batters: Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (SL), M. Shahrukh Khan, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Bhatia.

All-rounders: Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone (ENG), Sam Curran (ENG), Sikandar Raza (ZIM), Shivam Singh, Mohit Rathee, Matthew Short.

Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Ellis (AUS), Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada (SA), Vidwath Kaverappa.

KKR IPL 2023 SQUAD

Wicketkeepers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG), N. Jagadeesan, Litton Das (BAN).

Batters: Shreyas Iyer (currently not available due to injury), Nitish Rana ©, Rinku Singh, Mandeep Singh.

All-rounders: Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Andre Russel (WI), Shardul Thakur, Shakib Al Hasan (BAN), David Wiese (NAM).

Bowlers: Lockie Ferguson (NZ), Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine (WI), Tim Southee (NZ), Varun Chakravarthy, Umesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Kulwant Khejroliya.