Clinical PBKS gets off to a great start.

Rajapaksa and Arshdeep give Punjab Kings a winning start on Saturday, April 1, when they beat Kolkata Knight Riders by seven runs (DLS method) at the PCA stadium in Mohali. This was the foundation for Punjab Kings' winning start. Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored his first IPL fifty (50 off 32), Shikhar Dhawan hit a 29-ball 40, and PBKS posted a formidable 191/5. With the help of the other batters, PBKS was able to win. Andre Russell top-scored for KKR however they lost wickets at standard spans and in the end missed the mark regarding the DLS standard score as they got done with 146/7 out of 16 overs when downpour constrained the players off the field.

After being asked to bat, Prabhsimran set the tone for the Kings' innings with a quick-fire 23 off 12 deliveries. He faced all of the strike in the first two overs and struck a six off Umesh Yadav, two fours, and a maximum from Tim Southee. Rajapaksa took over after that. However, Southee caught him down the leg side, ending his innings in a controlled manner. However, Rajapaksa joined Punjab's rapid progress despite this. The Sri Lankan batsman, who had been on 3 off 4 at the beginning of the fifth over, brought Sunil Narine into the attack with two fours and a six. Shikhar Dhawan was also collecting boundaries at the other end as Punjab increased their powerplay odds to 56/1.

Rajapaksa hit a four off Shardul Thakur, played a casual flick for a six, swept Narine for a four to raise a half-century stand off 33 deliveries, and then showed dexterity when he guided a Shardul delivery to the thirdman fence for a four. The attacking strategy continued. As Punjab raced to 100 in ten overs, Shikhar also kept hitting boundaries. As Punjab destroyed the KKR attack, it appeared more like a competition between the batters trying to beat each other.

Did KKR manage to hold PBKS in check in the second half?

only to the extent that PBKS was prevented from scoring 200. Even though Rajapaksa scored a brisk fifty, he was out quickly, and Jitesh Sharma continued the aggressiveness with big hits in a 21-off-11 cameo knock. Umesh finished with a score of 1-27 and Varun CV finished with a score of 1-26 as KKR responded with the wickets of Jitesh and Shikhar. But Narine's 1-40, Thakur's 0-43, and Southee's 2-54 meant that the good things were overshadowed by expensive games, and PBKS won a lot of money. Five of the seven PBKS batters had strikeout rates of more than 150, indicating that the team resorted to the aggressive tactics that had paid off in the previous season and set the stage for the 2023 campaign. Each of the seven batters finished with scores in the double digits.

Problems for KKR in the powerplay In the previous IPL, the Knight Riders had lost the most powerplay wickets of any team, 27. In addition, they lost three wickets inside the powerplay in this game during the first six innings, further complicating matters. Arshdeep Singh accounted for Mandeep Singh and Anukul Roy in the same over, despite Rahmanullah Gurbaz's quick start. Gurbaz turned into the third to leave, getting bowled by Nathan Ellis in the fifth over.

Nitish Rana got off to a promising start but fell to Sikandar Raza for a 17-ball 24, and Rinku Singh got out to Rahul Chahar as KKR fell to 80/5 as PBKS struck frequently. Andre Russell dazzled for a while, hitting three fours and two sixes, but he was defeated by Curran on 35 out of 19, putting KKR even further behind the par score and in further trouble as the rain started to fall in Mohali. In the 16th over, when KKR were behind the DLS par score when the players went off and the drizzle turned into a proper shower, Arshdeep returned and took Venkatesh Iyer for a wicket.

What about the Impact Players Rajapaksa was rested for the second innings after his flamboyant innings, and PBKS selected Rishi Dhawan as the Impact Player. However, KKR's introduction of Venkatesh as the Impact Player in place of Varun CV was not the first time he was involved in the action. Venkatesh had gotten off to a consistent beginning, scoring several limits off Raza, and was engaged with a consistent stand with Rana. However, Rishi didn't have the best start, going for 15 in his first over. However, Venkatesh ran out of partners, and he eventually gave up on making an impact with a 28-ball 34.

Next steps:

On April 5, the Punjab Kings will travel to Guwahati to face the Rajasthan Royals. On April 6, Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Kolkata Knight Riders will play their first home game at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Brief ratings: Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored 50 and Shikhar Dhawan scored 40 for Punjab Kings in 20 overs. Tim Southee, 2-54, and André Russell, 35, beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 146/7 in 16 overs. 34, Venkatesh Iyer Arshdeep Singh won by seven runs (DLS method) with 3-19.