Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana won the toss and decided to field first in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Punjab Kings here at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium on Saturday.
KKR will be led by Nitish Rana in the absence of Shreyas Iyer. It was a forced change as Iyer got injured during the Border Gavaskar Trophy. In the tournament opener, defending champions Gujarat Titans defeated Chennai Super Kings by five wickets.
At the time of toss, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana said, “We will bowl first, it has rained in the last two days so there would be some moisture. I am excited because very few people get this opportunity. It is a game of cricket so there is not much pressure. The impact player rule is in its initial stage. We have to see that the decisions we take prove to be right. Russell, Narine, Gurbaz and Southee are our overseas players.”
Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan said, “We would have fielded first. We have got a balanced side, so hopefully we will do good. The team preparation has been good and we will look to dominate the game, hoping for a great season ahead. We are eager to win the trophy and I am looking to lead from the front. My overseas players are – Bhanuka, Nathan Ellis, and Sam Curran, don’t remember the fourth name.”
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Mandeep Singh, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Anukul Roy, Umesh Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan(c), Prabhsimran Singh(w), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar and Arshdeep Singh.
