Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan was elated after they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by seven runs (DLS method) in their opening match of IPL 2023 at the IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali on Saturday. The home team posted a par score of 191 runs on the board after Nitish Rana won the toss and decided to bowl first.
PBKS started in an aggressive manner as Prabhsimran Singh took the attack against Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee but the opener was dismissed while trying to flick an innocuous delivery down the leg side against the latter.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa was able to hit the ground running whereas Dhawan played an anchor role. The Sri Lanka left-hander scored 50 runs from 32 balls but was dismissed right after reaching the personal milestone.
However, PBKS batters kept going hard against the KKR bowlers as Jitesh Sharma and Sam Curran scored good little cameos of 21 and 26 respectively to help their team get past the 190-run mark.
On the other hand, the beleaguered batting unit of KKR was exposed as they lost three wickets in the PowerPlay overs. Arshdeep Singh accounted for Mandeep Singh and Anukul Roy with short-pitched deliveries in the Powerplay and then returned to dismiss a well-settled Venkatesh Iyer with a bumper. KKR managed 146-7 after 16 overs before rain intervened and the result was decided via DLS.
Shikhar Dhawan said in the post-match presentation, “It’s a great feeling to start the tournament with a win, we’ll try to take the momentum in the next game and carry that confidence ahead. According to the situation I used those bowlers, good thing we have got plenty of bowlers in the side. I knew Raza was going to be handy against the left-handers, so he gave us three quality overs.”
He added, “Also have experienced bowlers like Sam Curran and Arshdeep in the side. Wanted to be aggressive and at the same time smart. Was trying to hold one end, and if I got out, someone else would do that. They are youngsters and they are learning. We all are living our dream and we should be happy about it. As a leader, I make sure the team stays relaxed and in a happy state of mind.”
Punjab Kings will look to carry the good show in the upcoming matches and they were certainly dominant against KKR. The Shikhar Dhawan-led team will next face Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati.
