Big picture: Hesson’s return
Perhaps, with hindsight, Hesson was onto a good thing – but in keeping with Kings’ IPL history, he did not last long enough for them to find out. The following season, he started a new role as director of cricket at Royal Challengers Bangalore and in each of the three seasons he has overseen, RCB have qualified for the play-offs. Kings, meanwhile, have missed out in all three.
IPL 2023 form guide
Punjab Kings WLLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Royal Challengers Bangalore LWLLW
Team news: Will Dhawan and Livingstone return?
Toss and Impact Player strategy
Punjab Kings
Kings’ balance will depend on whether Dhawan is fit, and therefore whether or not they feel the need to cover his absence with an additional domestic batter. Livingstone, if fit, would represent a like-for-like swap with Sikandar Raza – though there is a chance that both play and Matthew Short drops out. Raza was named Player of the Match in their last game, picking a wicket and scoring a 41-ball 57. If Kings bat first, Prabhsimran Singh will likely start and be substituted by Rahul Chahar, and vice versa if they bowl first.
Possible XII: 1 Shikhar Dhawan/Atharva Taide, 2 Prabhsimran Singh, 3 Matthew Short, 4 Harpreet Singh, 5 Liam Livingstone/Sikandar Raza, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Sam Curran, 8 Shahrukh Khan, 9 Harpreet Brar, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Rahul Chahar, 12 Arshdeep Singh
Royal Challengers Bangalore
RCB have a decision to make on Vijaykumar Vyshak, who impressed on debut against Delhi Capitals but had a rough outing against Chennai Super Kings. If they choose to leave him out, they may return to Akash Deep. Suyash Prabhudessai’s cameo will earn him a run in the middle order, and he is likely to be involved in their Impact Player switch, either replacing or being replaced by a domestic bowler.
Possible XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Mahipal Lomror, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Suyash Prabhudessai, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Shahbaz Ahmad, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Wayne Parnell, 11 Akash Deep/Vijaykumar Vyshak, 12 Mohammed Siraj.
Stats that matter
Pitch and conditions
The average first-innings total at Mohali in IPL games since 2018 is 175, but the average winning first-innings total is 186. Kings won their first home fixture, defending 191 against Kolkata Knight Riders (via DLS), then slipped to defeat against Gujarat Titans in their second. The weather will be warm, with some chance of rain.
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98