IPL 2023: Rajapaksa, Arshdeep and rain allow PBKS to see past KKR; social media has mixed reactions

It was a winning start for Punjab Kings (PBKS) as it edged past former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2023 Indian Premier League's (IPL's) Match 2 at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium in Mohli on Saturday. Performances from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Arshdeep Singh were vital, while rain also played its part, with social media generating mixed reactions.

Winning the toss, KKR skipper Nitish Rana elected to bowl, citing the overnight rains. PBKS lost opener Prabhsimran Singh (23) in the second over of the PowerPlay (PP) to pacer Tim Southee with 23 runs on the board. However, things became risky for KKR, as opener Shikhar Dhawan (40) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (50) added 86 for the second wicket to keep PBKS on track for a big total.

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While the Sri Lankan raced to his maiden IPL half-century off 32 deliveries, he was the second wicket to fall in the 11th to pacer Umesh Yadav. Thereon, the PBKS batters manage to contribute evenly and lose wickets at every 20-odd runs. However, they kept the scoreboard ticking, eventually finishing on a good total of 191/5.

For KKR, Southee grabbed a couple, while leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy was economical. At the start of the second innings, PBKS used its Impact Player (IP), replacing Rajapaksa with pacer Rishi Dhawan. Meanwhile, KKR was off to a rocky start, losing three for 29 by the fifth over of the PP, while the side brought in Venkatesh Iyer (34) as its IP, replacing Chakravarthy.

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Venkatesh and Rana (32) put on a 46-run partnership for the third wicket to keep the side's hopes alive before off-spinner Sikandar Raza dismissed the latter in the tenth. While Rinku Singh (4) fell to leg-spinner Rahul Chahar in the subsequent over at 80, Venkatesh and Andre Russell (35) added 50 vital runs.

However, Russell's good innings and KKR's faint hopes were ended in the 15th when pacer Sam Curran got rid of the Jamaican, followed by Venkatesh falling to pacer Arshdeep Singh in the following over. The pair were looking to accelerate the run rate since drizzle had settled in, as KKR was lagging in the Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) par score.

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By this time, the rain came pelting down as the players left the field, failing to restart. With KKR falling short of the DLS par score by ten runs, it handed PBKS the success. For the hosts, pacer Arshdeep was the star with three wickets, while Chahar was decently economical.