PBKS vs KOL Pitch Report: IS Bindra Stadium Mohali Pitch Report for IPL 2023 Match 2

The ongoing 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will feature its first double header on the second day itself. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) during the first match of the day tomorrow, at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, in Mohali.

Both the teams will begin the season with a fresh promise, under the new leadership with respect to captaincy as well as the coaching front.

While KKR have an interim skipper in Nitish Rana in place of an injured Shreyas Iyer, they have acquired the services of Chandrakant Pandit as their head coach. PBKS, on the other hand, have trusted in the experienced Southpaw batter Shikhar Dhawan to skipper their side, while the veteran coach Trevor Bayliss will be their head coach for the season.

The PBKS, who finished sixth the previous season, had made the biggest-ever purchase in IPL auction history a few months ago when they roped in the English allrounder Sam Curran. The franchise will hope that the team too steps up with a similar on-field positivity, as they are yet to get the feel of the IPL trophy in their hands.

KKR, who finished at the seventh spot last year, will yet again rely on their two Windies superstars to come big, and a talented pool of Indian players to step up as they have failed to make it through to the playoffs since the 2014 edition.

PBKS vs KOL Pitch Report

Mohali last hosted a T20I in September 2022 between India and Australia, with the latter winning the contest by 4 wickets. The pitch had turned out to be a batting paradise with both the teams posting totals in excess of the 200-run mark.

Set to host an IPL match for the first time since the 2019 edition, the average score across the 56 IPL matches so far at this venue has been 167.8 runs.

The Mohali pitch generally has a tendency of assisting the pace bowlers especially with the new ball, due to the decent bounce it offers.

However, the fresh pitch tomorrow afternoon will make the batters do much of the talking, and a high-scoring contest is up on the cards.

Notable absentees for PBKS and KKR tomorrow

PBKS will be without their overseas wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow for the entire season. Also, the likes of Liam Livingstone (injured) and Kagiso Rabada (national duty) will miss their opening match as well.

KKR, on the other hand, will be without their Bangladeshi players in Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das as they are involved in a white-ball series against Ireland.