IPL 2023 Match 2: Punjab Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 runs (DLS method)

by CricDirect Saturday 1 April 2023

PBKS' Arshdeep Singh reacts after taking KKR's Anukul Roy's wicket

©IANS

Punjab Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 runs (DLS method), at PCA IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali, today, in Match 2 IPL 2023.

Match Summary

Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 2, Indian Premier League

Punjab Kings 191/5 (20 ov)

Kolkata Knight Riders 146/7 (16 ov)

Result - Punjab Kings won by 7 runs (DLS method)

SCORECARD

1??st match, 1??st win! ??

Sadde ??s put on a blockbuster show in Mohali! ??#JazbaHaiPunjabi #SaddaSquad #PBKSvKKR #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/o0nuBho9aA
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 1, 2023

Match Analysis

Sri Lanka's Bhanuka Rajapaksa smashed 50 to set up a seven-run win for Punjab Kings in their rain-hit opening Indian Premier League match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday.

The left-handed Rajapaksa's 32-ball knock and a late charge by big-buy Sam Curran, who hit an unbeaten 26, powered Punjab to 191-5 after being invited to bat first in Mohali.

Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh led the bowling charge with three wickets to restrict two-time champions Kolkata to 146-7 in 16 overs when rain stopped play and Punjab won by the DLS method.

Rajapaksa set the tone for the team's domination with skipper Shikhar Dhawan, who made 40, in an 86-run second-wicket stand before the Sri Lankan big-hitter departed.

Curran, a left-handed all-rounder who became the most expensive IPL player when Punjab paid $2.23 million in the December auction, proved his worth with a 17-ball blitz including two sixes.

Punjab replaced Rajapaksa with fast bowler Rishi Dhawan under the new "impact player" rule among other innovations in the T20 tournament.

The impact player, who can only be an Indian unless the team has fewer than four overseas players in their XI, is chosen from one of five substitutes listed with the team.

Other new rules include captains being allowed to announce their XI after the toss and teams being able to review umpires' decisions on no-balls and wides using the Decision Review System.

A nearly 30-minute floodlight failure delayed the start of the Kolkata innings, which was soon hurt by a double strike in one over by Arshdeep.

Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz and skipper Nitish Rana also departed before Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell, who hit 35, attempted to take charge of the chase in a 50-run stand.

But Curran took down the big-hitting Russell with his left-arm pace and Arshdeep got his third when he sent back Iyer for 34 to derail the chase.

The 16th edition of the money-spinning league, which began in 2008 and has risen to become the world's richest cricket tournament, runs till May 28 with 74 matches.

Match Stats

Punjab Kings Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Prabhsimran Singh - 1.6 ov), 2-109 (Bhanuka Rajapaksa - 10.6 ov), 3-135 (Jitesh Sharma - 13.3 ov), 4-143 (Shikhar Dhawan - 14.3 ov), 5-168 (Sikandar Raza - 17.5 ov)

Kolkata Knight Riders Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Mandeep Singh - 1.1 ov), 2-17 (Anukul Roy - 1.6 ov), 3-29 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz - 4.2 ov), 4-75 (Nitish Rana - 9.2 ov), 5-80 (Rinku Singh - 10.1 ov), 6-130 (Andre Russell - 14.5 ov), 7-138 (Venkatesh Iyer - 15.3 ov)

Playing XIs

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh; Subs: Rishi Dhawan, Atharva Taide, Matt Short, Rajat Bhatia, Mohit Rathee

Impact player: Rishi Dhawan for Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Kolkata Knight Riders 1st innings, 0.1 ov)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mandeep Singh, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Anukul Roy, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy; Subs: Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Narayanan Jagadeesan, Venkatesh Iyer, David Wiese

Impact player: Venkatesh Iyer for Varun Chakravarthy (Kolkata Knight Riders 1st innings, 1.6 ov)

Match Details
Toss: Kolkata Knight Riders, elected to field
Venue: PCA IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali
Start time: 1000 hrs GMT
Match officials: Bruce Oxenford, Yeshwant Barde (On-field Umpires); Jayaraman Madanagopal (TV Umpire); Pranav Joshi (Reserve Umpire); Manu Nayyar (Match-referee)