IPL 2023: Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders Match 2 - Talking Points and Who Said What?

After Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans got the IPL season 16 off to a great start in the opening game, Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders continued the action in the tournament on Saturday, April 1 at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali.

After being put in to bat first, Punjab put on a magnificent display of batting and posted 191/5 in the first innings on the back of a half-century from Bhanuka Rajapaksa. In reply, Kolkata reached 146/7 in 16 overs before rain interrupted the match and Punjab were awarded the match through the DLS method.

As Punjab Kings got their tournament off to a great start under the leadership of new captain Shikhar Dhawan, let’s take a look at the talking points from the match.

1 Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s half-century

The Sri Lankan batter scored a brilliant half-century (50 off 32) smashing five fours and two sixes in his innings. He was involved in an 86-run stand off 54 balls with Shikhar Dhawan for the second wicket and gave an electrifying start to Punjab.

2 Arshdeep Singh shines with the ball

Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh was seen once again at his best as he bowled a magnificent spell of 3/19 in 3 overs and broke the back of Kolkata’s batting. He picked up the wickets of Mandeep Singh and Anukul Roy in his first over to give KKR some early blows. The 24-year-old further dismissed Venkatesh Iyer in the 16^th over to crush Kolkata’s hopes of a win.

3 PCA stadium’s floodlights cause delay at the start of the second innings

The start of the second innings at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium was delayed as the ground staff struggled to turn on the floodlights. With the delay getting longer, the players were seen walking back to the pavilion after waiting for some time in the middle and only returned once the lights were on.

Winning skipper, Shikhar Dhawan said:

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. 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.

Losing skipper, Nitish Rana said:

Was thinking of using Anukul with the ball but didn't find the right situation for it. Russell not bowling at the death wasn't because of any injury issue. I just felt like going with my five main bowlers. They batted well, judged the wicket better than us. Anything could've happened if the rain didn't arrive. Venkatesh got out unfortunately as we were trying to get ahead on DLS. The shot was on. Overall it was a good game. Plenty of learnings from it. It's only the first game of the season. 

Player of the match, Arshdeep Singh said:

I tried to be unpredictable. The wicket was good for batting so I was mixing it up. (On giving a stare to Anukul Roy after getting his wicket) He was my batch mate in under-19 cricket. He started to hit me straightaway so I wanted to show aggression. He was also showing aggression so my aggression also came out a bit. Players are expecting that I will bowl yorkers so I tried to surprise them a bit by bowling bouncers. There was some rain around so the wicket had become skiddy, so I was using making use of the conditions on offer. I am enjoying myself and the atmosphere in the dressing room is very good. Going ahead, we will try to keep enjoying and keep winning games for our side. (On Shikhar Dhawan) He has created a very good atmosphere amongst us and we are loving it.