Arshdeep swings Punjab to a win

Punjab Kings began their campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 with a facile seven-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders at the PCA IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Saturday in a rain-affected match.

Asked to bat, Punjab posted 191 for five in their 20 overs and in their response Kolkata were struggling at 146 for seven in their 16 overs when rain halted play. According to DLS Method, Kolkata were seven runs behind when rain halted play.

Earlier, captain Shikhar Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa added 86 runs for the second wicket. This partnership aided the Punjab effort. Dhawan made 40 off 29 balls with six boundaries. Rajapaksa made 50 off 32 balls with five boundaries and two sixes. Towards the end Jitesh Sharma and Sam Curran used the long handle to good effect. In the end Punjab finished on 191 for five in their 20 overs. For Kolkata the most successful bowler was Tim Southee (2-54).

In their response Kolkata was struggling at 29 for three in 4.2 overs. At that stage Venkatesh Iyer (brought in as an impact player) added 46 runs for the fourth wicket with skipper Nitish Rana. Later, Iyer added 50 runs for the sixth wicket with Andre Russell. Finally when rain stopped play, Kolkata was struggling at 146 for seven. Kolkata needed 46 runs off 24 balls. When DLS method was applied, Kolkata was seven runs behind. For Punjab the best bowler was Arshdeep Singh (3-19).

Match Summary

Punjab Kings: 191-5 (20)
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: 146-7 (16)
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)