Punjab Kings (PBKS) began IPL 2023 with a victory, defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven runs in a rain-affected contest in Mohali.
Kolkata, who won the toss and chose to field, got off to a slow start, with Bhanuka Rajapaksa heading the charge. Rajapaksa hit a 32-ball 50 and shared an 86-run second-wicket partnership with skipper Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan was caught for 40 (29), while Sam Curran contributed an unbeaten 26 off 17 deliveries. In reaction, KKR got off to a bad start, as Arshdeep Singh took two wickets in his first over and Nathan Ellis took one shortly after.
However, captain Nitish Rana and KKR Impact Player Venkatesh Iyer helped to calm things down before Sikandar Raza removed the KKR skipper for 24 hours.(17). Following his dismissal, KKR lost one more wicket before Andre Russell seized control of the situation. He got 35 points in 19 balls. When the rain came down, Shardul Thakur and Sunil Narine were batting in the centre. At the time, Kolkata needed 46 runs to win in four overs, while Punjab led by 7 runs using the DLS technique. Tim Southee, on the other hand, was the most costly KKR bowler. In his quota, the Kiwi quick allowed 54 runs and took two wickets.
