IPL 2023 : 3 Players Who will be Crucial For Kolkata Knight Riders To Win PBKS VS KKR Match No. 2

Kolkata Knight Riders endured a poor season last in IPL 2022, where they finished seventh under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer with six wins and eight losses. This year, the Knight Riders would be hoping for a much-improved performance from their players. KKR’s IPL 2023 campaign will kickstart on April 1 when they take on Punjab Kings in Mohali. 

The franchise released some big names ahead of the auction. But due to the low budget, KKR couldn’t make the most of the auction. If you look at KKR’s squad they’ll find many loopholes in it. An injury to incumbent skipper Shreyas Iyer just prior to the start of the tournament hasn’t helped their cause. It is also reported that pace ace Lockie Ferguson might miss the first game against PBKS due to an injury concern.

Nitish Rana has been appointed as KKR’s interim skipper and he will have a huge task in hand first up against the Punjab Kings. The lack of depth as well as the quality of bench players poses an obvious issue for the side ahead of their season opener. The team management will have to work around the available resources to avoid the defeat against PBKS.

The two-time IPL winners will rely on names like Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Shardul Thakur, and Venkatesh Iyer to step up against a much more formidable Punjab outfit. In this article, we look at three important KKR players to watch out for in their first game against PBKS.

Top Kolkata Players to Watch Out for in the PBKS VS KKR Clash:

3) Nitish Rana

The newly appointed KKR Skipper would love to start his journey as captain with a win. And for that, KKR will need him to deliver as captain and as star batter as well. No other batter has scored more runs for the Knight Riders since Rana’s maiden appearance for the franchise in 2018. The southpaw has racked up 1,744 runs for the Kolkata-based franchise. Rana can also contribute with his part-time off-spin bowling.

However, KKR would be hoping that Rana’s services as a bowler won’t be required for the PBKS game. The Delhi-based batter will enjoy batting in Mohali as traditionally it has helped stroke-makers like Rana. It will be interesting to see how Rana will fare in his first game as the captain of the team.

2) Sunil Narine

Since his IPL debut in 2012, Narine has come across as one of the most hostile spinners in the IPL. With 152 wickets in 148 games, Narine is the eighth-highest wicket-taker in IPL history. The economy rate of 6.63 is the second lowest after Rashid Khan (6.37) among all the players to have taken 100 or more wickets in the cash-rich league.

Narine will have the crucial responsibility of keeping the opposition’s flow of runs in control and taking wickets as well given the batting-friendly nature of the track. Post 2017, he has sharpened his skills with the bat as well. The left-handed batter can be used as a floater. He can maximize the power play overs if given the opportunity to bat at the top of the order. 

1) Andre Russell

Rarely, do you find cricketers who can tonk the ball a long way alongside clocking around 140 KPH consistently, Russell is one such cricketer. The T20 globetrotter is a utility cricketer and he can win matches with the bat or ball. Since his debut for KKR in 2014, he has smacked 1977 runs besides taking 88 wickets in 91 matches. His career strike rate of 177.88 is the best for any player in the history of the competition.

A brilliant athlete, Russell is also one of the finest fielders going around. Mohali has been a happy hunting ground for batters and Russell can score big in the first game to set a template for the rest of the season. With the ball in hand, he can trouble PBKS batters in the powerplay and at the back end as well.