IPL 2023, Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 2: Best memes from the game

Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Shikhar Dhawan guided Punjab Kings to a big 191/5 total while batting first.

Published - 01 Apr 2023, 20:27 IST | Updated - 01 Apr 2023, 19:42 IST

5 Min Read

Punjab Kings survived a late comeback from Kolkata Knight Riders in the second match of the Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) and registered a seven-run win via the DLS method. Rain interrupted the game when the Knight Riders were at 146/7 while chasing a 192-run target. The game was well-balanced for a potential last-over thriller but the Kings were declared winners by the DLS method.

Nitish Rana won the toss on his captaincy debut for Kolkata and decided to bowl first at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. Star all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer was surprisingly named in the substitutes with Rahmanullah Gurbaz donning the wicketkeeping gloves ahead of Narayan Jagadeesan. Punjab Kings also surprised fans by leaving Matthew Short on the bench.

Prabhsimran Singh gave the Kings a flying start by smashing 23 off just 12 with two fours and two sixes. But he was caught on Tim Southee's delivery in the second over. Shikhar Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa then continued the momentum with a dominant stand of 86 runs for the second wicket.

Bhanuka top-scored with 50 off 32 and Dhawan added a crucial 40 off 29 to keep the Kings on track for a big total. Record-signing Sam Curran shone on his return to Punjab Kings and smashed 26 off 17 to help his team score a challenging total of 191/7. Southee took two wickets for the Knight Riders but debutant Shardul Thakur proved the costliest bowler with no success.

The star Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh gave Punjab Kings a sensational start with two early wickets of Mandeep Singh and Anukul Roy. Kolkata batter struggled for the big shots in powerplay overs to concede early pressure. Venkatesh Iyer, an impact player, tried to balance the game with Rana as the duo added a 46-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

But the veteran Sikandar Raza dismissed Rana in the tenth over to put Punjab Kings in driving seat. Venkatesh kept the scoreboard moving and scored 34 off 28. But Andre Russell took a charge as he smashed 35 off 19 with the help of three fours and two sixes to bring KKR back in the game. But Curran made it interesting with Russell's wicket in the 15th over and Arshdeep took his third wicket of the day to dismiss Venkatesh in the next over.

The rain intensified and the officials halted the game after the 16th over when the Knight Riders needed 46 runs to win with seven wickets down. KKR fell just seven runs short as the official announced Punjab Kings as winners on a DLS method.