Arshdeep and Rajapaksa make a mark in their first IPL a rain-hit match
- Stump Talk
- April 1, 2022
- IPL, IPL2023
- Punjab Kings, TATA IPL 2023
- 0 Comments
Arshdeep and Rajapaksa led Punjab Kings to victory in a rain-hit game.
Punjab Kings 191 for 5 (Rajapaksa 50, S Dhawan 40, Southee 2-54) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 146 for 7 (Russell 35, Arshdeep 3-19) by seven runs (DLS method).
Chasing 192, Knight Riders scored 80 losing 5 wickets with little hope of victory. That’s when Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer paired up for what looked like they were leading the match for the first time. Russell’s six and Sam Curran’s four changed the balance of power, cutting the deficit from 32 to 62. Also, with rain swirling around Mohali, he brought the Knight Cavalry closer to the DLS target.
But Russell lost the next ball to Curran. Later, he also sacked Venkatesh, finishing 3 to 19 in three matches.
Kings looked great with the good bat, especially Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who hits 50 on 32 balls. His batting allowed the Kings to hit 100 in 10, but they didn’t perform well on death and finished 5 to 191. In the end, it was enough.
In the second inning, Rajapaksa was replaced by all-round bowler Rishi Dhawan, but then the Sri Lankan dealt his damage. He picked up the afternoon opener Prabhsimran Singh. Rajapaksa is particularly bad at spin. He attacked the accelerators and spinners with his feet and eclipsed his captain, Shikhar Dhawan, who struggled to find too many hit times.
Rajapaksa kept his word when he hit in the 11th inning and allowed the Kings to score a grand total. His successor, Rishi, claimed 15 pitches on the same pitch he threw.
For Knight Riders, Varun Chakravarthy was replaced after the first inning. Varun has bowled skillfully with a 1 in 26 balls in four overs, but Venkatesh or N Jagadeesan will replace him. While the Cavaliers were 17-2 on two positions, they picked Venkatesh. He made 34 hits on 28 balls.
Knight Riders are always impressing, hitting and quickly burning. One can sense Shreyas Iyer’s presence in the team. They brought in one of their most inexperienced forwards, with Mandeep Singh and Anukul Roy, against Arshdeep’s short, accurate bowling that targeted their necks.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz showed up and gave an ideal start smashing 22 off 16 with three 4s and a 6, but the rest of the game was a struggle when he was knocked down in third base. Nitish Rana is 24 for 17 years and Rinku Singh is also invaluable, forcing former players Venkatesh and Russell to recuperate.
Sam Curran caught a break with a short ball and Russell cleared the ball. Narine and Shardul gave the Knight Riders a glimmer of hope, but that was it.
It looks like the Punjab Kings are back!
The Kings won the toss and Prabhsimran’s 23 of 12 balls was a screaming start. Rajapaksa followed with fired five 4s and two 6s from 30 balls to reach half a century.
Jitesh Sharma tore up the field gaps with 21 off 11 balls. Even when Varun bowled Shikhar for 40 to make it 143 for 3 in 14.3 overs, the Kings aimed for 200-plus. Raza, Curran and Shahrukh Khan together scores 53 in 37 balls. Arshdeep’s new-ball spell in the second innings ensured their victory.
