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Punjab Kings (PBKS) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven runs (D/L method) in yesterday’s (April) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
Sent into bat after losing the toss, Punjab put up an impressive 191/5 on the board as Bhanuka Rajapaksa top-scored with 50 off 32. Arshdeep Singh then claimed 3/19 as Kolkata were held to 146/7 in 16 overs. PBKS were declared winners on the Duckworth-Lewis method as rain prevented any further play.
Earlier, PBKS opener Prabhsimran Singh raced away, slamming two fours and two sixes before being dismissed by Tim Southee for 23 off 12 balls. Skipper Shikhar Dhawan (40 off 29) and Rajapaksa added 86 runs for the second wicket. The latter took on Sunil Narine in the fifth over and clubbed him for two fours and a six. The boundaries kept flowing as PBKS reached exactly 100 at the halfway stage.
Rajapaksa reached a 30-ball fifty but perished soon after trying to take on Umesh Yadav. Jitesh Sharma contributed a quick 21 off 11 deliveries. Dhawan was next to go, bowled by Varun Chakravarthy with a skidder for 40 off 29 balls.
Sikandar Raza fell for 16 off 13 before a couple of lusty blows from Sam Curran (26* off 17) lifted Punjab past 190.
Arshdeep three-fer hurts KKR
Defending the total, Arshdeep came up with a brilliant bowling effort to put Kolkata on the back foot. The left-arm pacer struck on first ball as Mandeep Singh (two) pulled him to deep square leg. In the same over, Anukul Roy (four) miscued another short ball to midwicket.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz looked good during his 22 off 16 but was bowled by Nathan Ellis as he missed an attempted big hit. Venkatesh Iyer (34 off 28) and skipper Nitish Rana (24 off 17) added 46 for the fourth wicket, but KKR needed at least one of them to carry on.
It was once again left to Andre Russell to try and rescue the innings. He slammed three fours and two sixes before being dismissed by Curran for 35 off 19. Rain had the final say as the chasing side were seven runs behind on the DLS par score after 16 overs.
PBKS vs KKR: Who Won Player of the Match in yesterday's IPL 2023 match?
Rajapaksa scored a terrific fifty at a rapid pace for Punjab, while skipper Dhawan scored a handy 40. With the ball, Arshdeep was outstanding, claiming three wickets without giving away too many runs.
For KKR, Russell and Iyer contributed 30s, while Umesh Yadav (1/27) and Varun Chakaravarthy (1/26) were economical with the ball.
Arshdeep was named Player of the Match for his fantastic three-wicket spell.
