IPL 2023 PBKS vs KKR: IPL match was stopped due to rain played at IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali on Saturday. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)IPL 2023, Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Highlights: Punjab Kings defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by seven runs on Duckworth Lewis (DLS) method after heavy rain stopped play in their IPL season opener on Saturday.
Batting first, Punjab Kings scored 191/5 riding on a half-century from Sri Lankan Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who smashed 50 off 32 balls and skipper Shikhar Dhawan, who contributed 40 from 29 deliveries.
In reply, KKR were 146 for 7 in 16 overs when heavens opened up. The DLS par score for KKR after losing seven wickets in 16 overs was 153 and they were seven runs short. The dismissal of dangerous Andre Russell (35 off 19 balls) in the 15th over by Sam Curran (1/38) and Arshdeep Singh removing Venkatesh Iyer (34 off 28 balls) in the very next over tilted the par score for Punjab Kings.
Punjab Kings
191/5 (20.0)Kolkata Knight Riders
146/7 (16.0)Punjab Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 runs (D/L method)
PBKS vs KKR IPL T20 Live Cricket Score Streaming Online: Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan in the ground during rain on Friday in Mohali a day before an IPL match played against KKR. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)
It's official | No further play was possible in Mohali due to rain and Punjab Kings start off their IPL campaign with a win (DLS method). PBKS won by 7 runs (DLS).
Rain gods play spoilsport in Mohali. KKR are behind on DLS par by 7 runs. Score after 16 overs, KKR: 146/7
WICKET! Venkatesh Iyer is gone for 34 (28) and Arshdeep Singh gets another wicket! His third of the game! However, the over ends with another six - this time from the bat of Sunil Narine! Score after 16 overs, KKR: 146/7
Curran has the last laugh after being smacked all over the ground! Quite an eventful over that! And quite astoundingly, Shardul Thakur walked in after the fall of the wicket and hit a six off the first ball. This is how the over panned out -
14.3 - Curran to Russell - SIX
14.4. - Curran to Russell - Four
14.5 - Curran to Russell - Wicket
14.6 - Curran to Thakur - SIX
1 4 2 N1 N6 1 0 1 = 18 from the over! Carnage in this over from Nathan Ellis. There was also a dropped catch of Russell by Prabhsimran Singh in between this mayhem. It's starting to drizzle a bit harder now. KKR are behind by 10 on DLS. Score after 14 overs, KKR: 118/5
Andre Russell hits Chahar for a six and it looks like he is batting as if every over is the last over of the innings..PBKS still need to get Russell because he can take the game away. Score after 13 overs, KKR: 100/5
Rahul Chahar snares Rinku Singh who is out caught by Raza! It was the googly on outside off and Rinku Singh went for a big slogsweep and finds the fielder in deep mid-wicket. Score after 11 overs, KKR: 83/5
Nitish Rana is gone for 24(17) and Sikandar Raza bags his first IPL wicket! Sikandar Raza picks his first IPL wicket. Full marks to Shikhar Dhawan for persisting with Sikander Raza. It's definitely a challenging total to chase. But, if KKR could make some productive partnership keeping up with the Required Run Rate, then 192 would be a good one for them to chase. Score after 10 overs, KKR: 80/4
Nitish Rana and Venky Iyer seems to have found their mojo taking down Rishi Dhawan for 2 fours and a six. Need to get Rahul Chahar in now. Score after 9 overs, KKR: 75/3
Nitish Rana showing why he is regarded highly against offies as he brought out his reverse sweep against Sikander Raza. He is more troubled against wristspin than offspin, so perhaps Rahul Chahar would be a more prudent option. Score after 8 overs, KKR: 60/3
Impact player Venkatesh Iyer hits Sikander Raza for two fours in a row! And with that the PowerPlay comes to an end! Score after 6 overs, KKR: 46/3
Arshdeep Singh would think he had seen it all during his still-nascent career at the top level. Vilified for dropping a catch in a game against Pakistan, the left-armer has nevertheless done himself no harm when he has had the ball in hand for India, even in the rarified atmosphere of the T20 World Cup. No wonder he is known to express his feelings in poetic fashion on social media platforms.
Coming on to bowl the second over for Punjab Kings against Kolkata Knight Riders, Arshdeep had facing him someone he would have known very well – his state captain Mandeep Singh. Arshdeep is quicker than one thinks and when he dug the first one in short, Mandeep didn't quite control the pull shot and holed out in the deep, prompting a Shoaib Akhtar-like aeroplane celebration from the bowler, signifying that the bowler quite enjoyed this dismissal. Next batsman Anukul Roy thumped him over mid-on, just short of being a six, but Arshdeep had the last laugh – another short ball, which Roy was late in latching on to, resulting in a dolly catch at midwicket inside the circle. Only a stare at the departing batsman sufficed for Arshdeep this time.
- Tushar Bhaduri
Nathan Ellis castles Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 22. Gurbaz misses the line and the extra pace does the damage and the ball clips the top of off-stump. KKR are in trouble now. Nitish Rana, left handed bat, comes to the crease and begins with a boundary. Score after 5 overs,KKR: 35/3
KKR unleash Venkatesh Iyer at 4, substituting out Varun Chakravarthy who bowled a fine spell. Four by Gurbaz! He sliced the drive and it's in the air, but wide of short third man. Score after 4 overs, KKR: 29/2
And that's another in the same over!! Anukul Roy started brightly with a four but he mistimes the last ball of Arshdeep's over horribly and it's an easy catch for Sikandar Raza. KKR 17-2 after 2 overs
Arshdeep in to bowl the second over and he strikes straightaway. That too his first ball of this IPL!!! Mandeep tried to open up his arms, went for the longer boundary and Curran takes him. KKR 13/1 after 1.1 over
Mandeep Singh and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the middle for KKR as 2nd innings resumes. Sam Curran will open the attack. And gurbaz has smoked Curran's 5th delivery for a monster six!!! Ends the over with four mre. Not the start Punjab would have wanted from Curran. KKR 13/0 after 1 over
Tushar Bhaduri: With all the administrative alacrity (one would hope) to speed up play and penalise teams for being tardy, sometimes it's just inefficiency from organisers that brings the game a bad name. One would have thought that someone would have checked the floodlights as they would have been required in the second half of the game. No such luck.
The players had come onto the field and were ready for the restart, but were made to wait for the lights to come on. After waiting for almost 10 minutes, the umpires took the players off the field. It certainly isn't a good look for the most high-profile and prestigious T20 league in the world, if such routine organisational requirements are not taken care of.
The ICC has, of late, seemed to have taken up the problem of slow play with some urgency. Fielding sides are penalised by having fewer fielders outside the circle if they don't bowl their overs within the stipulated period. Wonder who will be punished, and how, in this instance. With another match due to start in less than two hours, it makes it tricky for broadcasters also. No doubt the BCCI, the host franchise and local state association have a case to answer.
The players are sitting in the dug out but there's still no sign of play getting started any time soon. They wait and we wait. We'll get back to live updates as soon as play resumes.
PBKS have made their impact sub - Rajapaksa out and Rishi Dhawan in. We are all set to start but there's a little trouble with the floodlights as we wait for the match to restart.
4 1 6 2 2 0 = 15 from the last over, just the flourish Punjab would have wanted. Nice little cameo at the end by Curran. A more than competitive total on the board. KKR needs to bat better as there are chances that the pitch may slow down. Score after 20 overs, PBKS: 191/5
Punjab Kings team is full of intent merchants, Even without Bairstow their batting looks scary. once Livingstone and Rabada joins them they are the team to beat! Not a great KKR debut for Shardul as he finishes with 0/43 in his four overs. Score after 19 overs, PBKS: 176/5
Sunil Narine dismisses Sikandar Raza for 16 runs from 13 balls. Caught by Nitish Rana! Raza sliced it in the air, and it is taken comfortably at extra cover! Score after 18 overs, PBKS: 168/5
SIX! Curran gets near the pitch after stepping out, but still makes great contact! Its over long-on for an 87-meter maximum. Score after 17 overs, PBKS: 164/4
Dhawan is beaten for pace after Chakaravarthy fired in at 106kph! Varun has shown better control than most of his colleagues today. And a good move to send Sam Curran in now. Can hold SRK back to counter pace with Curran better suited to hit spin. Score after 15 overs, PBKS: 143/4
Tim Southee strikes again and Jitesh Sharma is out for 21 (11). End of good knock from Jitesh Sharma. It was the slower one that did the trick from Southee. Shikhar Dhawan has to show some intent now. Can’t continue like this, already into 14 overs now. Score after 14 overs, PBKS: 142/3
The Jitesh Show has begun in Mohali! BIG six from Jitesh Sharma, and what a catch from the fan in the crowd! Sunil Narine is clearly having a rare off day, 36 runs in 3 overs, very rarely you would see him leaking runs. Score after 13 overs, PBKS: 129/2
The Sri Lankan batter departs after scoring a blazing fifty! Umesh Yadav strikes for KKR after Rajapaksa holes out off a slower ball. Can the purple knights pull things back at the moment? Score after 11 overs, PBKS: 109/2
Fifty by Bhanuka Rajapaksa in just 30 balls, brilliant innings by the Lankan lad! Watch some of his fantastic hits below. Score after 10 overs, PBKS: 100/1
The number of Sri Lankans in the IPL has plummeted in recent editions, which is a reflection of the dwindling fortunes of the national team. There are no Malingas, Sangakkaras, Jayasuriyas or Jayawardenes any more. The islanders now even have to go through qualifiers to make it to the 50-over World Cup in India later this year. Bhanuka Rajapaksa is typical of many current Lankan players who despite being full of talent, fail to make a sustained impact at the top level due to poor fitness or lack of proper application. But the left-hander started his IPL with an intent to take no prisoners. Up against IPL legend Sunil Narine inside the Powerplay, Rajapaksa first advanced down the track to hit him over the offside, and then moved to the legside to carve a similar shot, for two fours. The Lankan then hit the West Indian straight back for a six. Shardul Thakur was thumped down the ground for a boundary, and then helped over the fine leg fence for a maximum. To show that he was not only about power, Rajapaksa brought out the sweep shot as well as a deft glide to third man to baffle the bowlers and the rookie KKR captain.- Tushar Bhaduri
1 4 1 N4 0 1 0 = 12 from the over. Shardul Thakur, concedes another expensive over and so far he has given away 25 from two overs. In 2022 IPL, among bowlers who had bowled 25 overs, Shardul Thakur’s economy of 9.8 was the third worst. Score after 9 overs, PBKS: 91/1
50-run stand between Rajapaksa and Dhawan and PBKS are cruising. But Shikhar Dhawan has faced only 2.2 overs so far in 8.3 innings of PBKS. "Unfortunately, Lockie Ferguson isn't fit for the game. However, it's still a very good side," says KKR coach from the sidelines. Score after 8 overs, PBKS: 79/1
2008 - PBKS win by 9 runs
2010 - KKR win by 39 runs
2012 - KKR win by 8 wickets
2013 - PBKS win by 4 runs
2016 - KKR win by 7 wickets
2017 - PBKS win by 14 runs
2019 - KKR win by 7 wickets
What will happen today?
Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Shikhar Dhawan are in good touch at the moment. Rajapaksa is looking dangerous at the moment and he whips Shardul Thakur for a SIX! nonchalantly! Even after the PowerPlay there is no stopping him. Score after 7 overs, PBKS: 69/1
IPL doesn't respect reputations or experience. Youngsters are always keen to take down stalwarts to make a name for themselves. Prabhsimran Singh isn't a household name in the game, Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee are, but it didn't stop the 22-year-old from taking on the accomplished duo at the start of the game. When Yadav strayed on the pads in the first over, Prabhsimran flicked it nonchalantly over deep square leg for a maximum. When Southee, now the New Zealand Test skipper, came on to bowl the second over, he was greeted by a flicked four to fine leg when he strayed in line. The next ball, the right-hander advanced down the pitch to smash a perfectly decent one past mid-off. That's not all, Prabhsimran was audacious enough to walk down the track again and this time hoick Southee way over cow corner for a six. The veteran would have rolled his eyes contemplating the impetuosity of youth.
The cameo didn't last long as Prabhsimran was strangled down the leg side on the last ball of the second over. But his 23 off 12 balls had given the home side the early impetus, that forced new Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana to bring on his bowling trump card, Sunil Narine, on as early as the fifth over, but it didn't stop the carnage.
- Tushar Bhaduri
Bhanuka Rajapaksa brings up Punjab's fifty with a six. Rajapaksha is hitting quite good, this is exhilarating batting. Bhanuka generally takes down pace pretty well but some terrific footwork so far against Narine. Two fours and a six from Narine's first over! Score after 5 overs, PBKS: 50/1
Tim Southee comes running in to bowl his second over to Dhawan, who welcomes him with a FOUR! It was back of a length ball and Dhawan made most of it with a nice cut shot. The next one has more room and once again Dhawan cuts it away past point. Score after 4 overs, PBKS: 36/1
After smashing Tim Southee for two fours and a six, Prabhsimran is caught behind! He will be mighty disappointed with that. His blazing knock of 23 from 12 balls comes to an end! Southee hits back. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, left handed bat, comes to the crease. Score after 2 overs, PBKS: 23/1
Prabhsimran and Dhawan are at the crease. Prabhsimran is on strike. Umesh Yadav will open the attack and the fourth ball of the over is dispatched for a six by the young Prabhsimran. He hit it over the square leg region for a maximum and then on the last ball of the over, almost chopped it on! That was an eventful over. Score after 1 over, PBKS: 9/0
KKR subs: Suyash, Arora, Jagadeesan, Venkatesh Iyer and Wiese.
PBKS subs: Rishi Dhawan, Taide, Matt Short, Bhatia and Rathee.
Shikhar Dhawan(c), Prabhsimran Singh(w), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Mandeep Singh, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Anukul Roy, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
"We will bowl first, it has rained in the last two days so there would be some moisture. I am excited because very few people get this opportunity. It is a game of cricket so there is not much pressure. The impact players rule is in its initial stage. We have to see that the decisions we take prove to be right." Southee, Russell, Narine and Gurbaz are his foreign players
"We would have fielded first. We have got a balanced side, so hopefully we will do good. The team preparation has been good and we will look to dominate the game, hoping for a great season ahead. We are eager to win the trophy and I am looking to lead from the front. My overseas players are - Bhanuka, Nathan Ellis, and Sam Curran, don't remember the fourth name."
Kolkata Knight Riders have won the toss. KKR skipper Nitish Rana opts to field against Punjab Kings.
"My preparation has been good. I got injured during red-ball season, so I was preparing for white-ball season. We have a new coach and we have a new plan, so let’s hope for the best. (On Sunil Joshi, Punjab Kings spin bowling coach) I have learnt a lot from him. Being a leg spinner, he advises me to go for wickets. As this is a big ground, it will be very helpful for spinners, especially with the square boundaries big."
The pitch in Mohali is suited to the batters and is one of the fastest pitches in India. "Average first innings score in afternoon matches here is 159, nine runs less than evening matches. Also, 80 percent matches have been won by teams chasing. A lot of that has to do with the moisture in the surface. However, this pitch is light brown in colour which tells me there's not a lot of moisture. It's also very hard, so it might be more even for teams batting first and chasing. There's a good covering of grass, looks quite even. Dimensions of the ground are unique. If you go to the eastern side, it's the larger of the two boundaries - 72 meters in distance, and also against the wind. That's not where you want to hit. Down the ground is 77 meters. Spinners would want to capitalise on that." - says Ganga on the broadcast.
Former India captain Anil Kumble was mighty impressed with Chennai Super Kings opener Ruturaj Gaikwad's six-hitting prowess during his 92-run knock in the IPL opener against Gujarat Titans, saying all his hits over the fence were "clean" and results of "pure timing".However, Gaikwad's show, featuring four boundaries and nine sixes from 50 balls, was overshadowed by the Titan's all-round performance. Shubman Gill struck 63 off 36 balls to help the defending champions Titans chase down the 179-run target in 19.2 overs."We don't associate him (Gaikwad) with six hitting but to hit nine sixes in an inning is really amazing. Clean, it looked really clean. It was not like he was going out of shape and trying to muscle it, just pure timing," said Kumble in a release from the official IPL broadcasters.Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel also praised Gaikwad, one of the players retained by CSK during the mega auction last year ahead of IPL 2022, for his dazzling knock.
KKR’s Sunil Narine has troubled most opponents with his spin over the last couple of seasons and tonight he will look to frustrate PBKS batters by keeping things tight once again. Last season, he picked up nine wickets in 14 games but had an exceptional economy rate of 5.57. On the other hand, PBKS leggie Rahul Chahar is a force in the IPL. He made a good impact last year, with 14 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 25.71 and an economy rate of 7.71.
According to weather.com, thunderstorms might play spoilsport. The probability of precipitation is quite high at 78 percent, the chances of thunderstorms are close to 50 percent.
Just like all his performances for India over the past couple of years. With the ball. With the bat. Thakur has been what they call an X-factor player. Hence, the team that came second best in IPL 2021 emptied Rs 10.75 crore from their purse to bring in the bowling all-rounder. His time at Chennai has also shown that Thakur can come in as a top order batter, after the fall of an early wicket or two. In his primary department, Thakur has a total of 36 wickets across the last two seasons
Gujarat Giants brought on Sai Sudharshan in Williamson’s place and the Tamil Nadu youngster didn’t disappoint, scoring 22 off 17 balls and putting on a vital partnership with the impressive Shubman Gill.
The 'Impact Player' in the IPL 2023 has garnered everyone's attention in this edition and in the opening match of IPL 2023 between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings, one thing that was on everyone's mind was how the teams are going to use it and who will be the designated 'impact players'. Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar gave his thumbs up to the new rule introduced by the BCCI as it has increased the curiosity quotient of everyone involved in IPL. The legendary India cricketer believes the teams might need some time to ace this new rule. "You need some time to understand new rules and acclimatise with new playing conditions. The same will be the case with all ten teams in the IPL. They will need some time to ace it."
In IPL 2023, both PBKS and KKR have a new captain-coach combination. After the injury to Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana will lead KKR. For Punjab, Shikhar Dhawan will be the captain following the release of Mayank Agarwal.
In IPL 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders finished at number seven on the points table with six wins. Punjab Kings, on the other hand, finished one spot above at six on the points table with 7 wins in 14 games. So both the teams will be looking for a good start tonight.
Punjab Kings (PBKS), still hunting for their first IPL title tackle Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match two of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Saturday. Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali will host the match and will start at 3:30 PM IST. Stay tuned for live updates.