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Punjab Kings: (Image Source: Twitter)
Rain played spoilsport in the Indian T20 League tie between Punjab and Kolkata in Mohali, with the home side eking out a narrow win by 7 runs (DLS method) after rain stopped play in the second innings.
The match got off to an eventful start, with Punjab opener Prabhsimran Singh taking the attack to the bowlers from the first ball. He was dismissed for a quick-fire 23 in the second over, before Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Shikhar Dhawan picked up the baton from him. The Sri Lankan brought up his half-century off 30 balls but was dismissed two balls later. Dhawan, who was striking at a more sedate pace, made 40 off 29 balls before getting out in the 15th over.
Virtually everyone in the Punjab batting lineup got a start but the Kolkata bowlers did well to keep the scoring rate in check. Some late fireworks from Sam Curran saw Punjab post 191/5 in their 20 overs and they would have been disappointed not to breach the 200-run mark. Tim Southee picked up two wickets for Kolkata, with Umesh Yadav, Sunil Narine, and Varun Chakravarthy taking one apiece.
Kolkata’s batters seemed to struggle after a slightly delayed restart due to a floodlight failure, losing Mandeep Singh in the second over. Anukul Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz followed him into the pavilion soon after and the team looked to be struggling at 46/3 when the powerplay finished. Skipper Nitish Rana and Impact Player Venkatesh Iyer got the chase back on track before Punjab hit back with another burst of wickets.
The back-and-forth nature of the tie continued as Andre Russell struck some lusty blows and looked to have wrested the initiative back from the home side. However, Punjab dismissed the big-hitting West Indian and Iyer in quick succession, leaving the visitors with 46 to get from the final 24 balls with just three wickets in hand. This was when rain struck, forcing the players off the field with Kolkata seven runs behind on DLS.
Eventually, it was the elements that had the final say as no further play was possible. Thus, Punjab got their first points on the board for the 2023 edition of the tournament, thanks to a solid batting effort backed up by a good bowling performance.
Here's how fans reacted to the win:
This Man can do Wonders in Odi Wc too... Let see 🙈🔥🔥
— Chanpreet Singh 🇮🇳 (@chanpreet777) April 1, 2023
In T20 cricket, the only thing that's longer than the innings is the list of sponsors."
— Faizan Ashfaq (@muhammadfashfaq) April 1, 2023
Hahhaahahhah hold that kk haat
— Ritayan (@huihuian69) April 1, 2023
Let's laugh at srgay's kkhar😂
— Mrin 🇮🇳 (@Mrinmoy25554517) April 1, 2023
Bc kon match rakha udar,bed light,rain etc.aram se kkr jit raha tha
— @jashim🇮🇳 (@jsim_king) April 1, 2023
KKR Robbed. They had lord Shardul batting
— #RetireKohli (@priyam1_raj) April 1, 2023
dukh dard pain aansu pic.twitter.com/toApZuQMtI
— Anant Kashyap (@theanantkashyap) April 1, 2023
Venky isn't an Impact player imo.
— Anindita Banerjee (@AninditaB_AB) April 1, 2023
(Not a finisher,OK as an anchor)
Core issues(Poor Opening,Shaky Middle order,1 dimensional bowling &terrible at the death,rely on one player)
Overall #KKR you can't win like this.
I think We KKR fans should start preparing ourselves for another💔
KKR team management need to kept in museum for assembling such a squad in IPL 2023.
— Shakti Man 💥 (@IamShaktiMann) April 1, 2023
KKR fans after team performance :) pic.twitter.com/uG2xLOIluF