IPL 2023: After floodlight failure, Punjab Kings’ Arshdeep Singh lights up Mohali

Chasing the imposing target of 192, when the KKR openers walked out to begin their innings, there was a floodlight malfunction and the players were forced to walk back to the dugout. The match was delayed by almost half an hour and when it began, Arshdeep Singh stole the limelight.

After the delayed start, it was local lad Arshdeep’s turn to light up the stadium with a two-wicket over that dented KKR’s chase.

Arshdeep is not a hit-the-deck kind of bowler but he used his height to perfection and all his three wickets came with the extra bounce which he extracted from a belter of a track.

Arshdeep got rid of his state captain Mandeep Singh with his first ball of this IPL, then dismissed his U-19 teammate Anukul Roy in the last ball of the over. He celebrated the two wickets in contrasting fashions: after dismissing Mandeep, he broke into his trademark helicopter celebration but he sent Anukul back to the pavilion with a mean stare. The seamer then returned to bounce out KKR’s impact player Venkatesh Iyer.

Curran wins the battle against Russell

With half of the side back in the hut and the asking rate climbing up 12 runs per over, Andre Russell walked out to bat. He loosened up with a swat down the ground of Harpreet Brar’s bowling. He found his arc and launched leg-spinner Rahul Chahar over long-off. He was even put down by Prabhsimran Singh on 23 off Nathan Ellis’ bowling.

Dhawan brought in Sam Curran, the most expensive player in IPL history, and Russell pummelled him over wide-long for a six. It was a juicy full toss and the next ball he played a ramp shot over the third man. At that stage, it looked like Russell, who didn’t bowl a single over in Punjab’s innings, might pull off a heist for the visiting team. But Curran had the last laugh. After conceding two boundaries, Curran went short but this time on his body, and Russell’s pull found Sikandar Raza, who pouched his third catch of the night.

We love you KKKK…Curran! ❤️#PBKSvKKR #JazbaHaiPunjabi #SaddaPunjab #TATAIPL @CurranSM pic.twitter.com/kuGjMIBKH7

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 1, 2023

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Rajapaksa’s maiden IPL 50

Punjab Kings displayed an aggression-first, high-risk-high-reward approach and paid off even though they were missing two swashbuckling English batsmen — Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone.

In Bairstow’s absence, Prabhsimran Singh walked out to bat with his skipper Shikhar Shawan and hogged the limelight and the strike in the first couple of overs. The hard-hitting wicket-keeper batsman carried his domestic form with a quickfire 12-ball 23. However, just before he was strangled down the leg side by Tim Southee, Prabhsimran played probably the shot of the inning when he charged down the ground and pulled Tim Southee over the deep mid-wicket for a six.

After watching the fireworks from the other end for two overs, Shikhar opened his hands’ with back-to-back boundaries of Umesh Yadav’s bowling. At the end of the powerplay, Punjab had raced to 56 for one to cap off a brisk start.

No 3, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, joined the act straightaway. He took on Sunil Narine, went inside out for two fours off Narine and ended the over with a straight six to power the Kings to 50 in the fifth over.

Dhawan dropped the anchor at one end, while Rajapaksa kept playing strokes. There was a Sanath Jayasuriya-esque flick six over the fine leg off Shardul’s in the seventh over, which yielded 13.

Punjab raced to the century mark in the 10th over. Rajapaksa got to his maiden IPL fifty in only 30 deliveries before he miscued one slower delivery from Umesh and ballooned it straight up with Rinku Singh taking a regulation catch. The wicket ended the second wicket stand, worth 86 off only 55 balls.

Next in, Jitesh Sharma took over from Rajapaksa. He gave no respite to Narine, hitting him for a 97-metre-long six straight down the ground, then pulling Umesh Yadav for a four before thumping Southee over the long-off. However, he got out the very next ball. His 11-ball 21 gave the impetus to the high-flying Punjab Kings in the middle overs.

Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza, making his IPL debut, started with a four but Dhawan fell at the other end as he was clean-bowled by Varun Chakravarthy for 40 off 29. KKR bowlers pulled things back, and from the 15th to the 19th over, they conceded only 34 runs. However, Sam Curran (26 not out off 17b) and Shahrukh Khan (11 not out off 7b) looted fifteen runs from the 20th over bowled by Tim Southee and helped Punjab to an imposing total, which they will be a bit disappointed to finish well after the position they were in at the halfway stage.

For KKR, Chakravarthy, who looked off-colour in his first two overs, was excellent at the death and finished his spell with impressive figures of 1/26, despite being tonked for a six by Sam Curran off his last ball. Umesh Yadav (1/37), Sunil Narine (1/40), and Tim Southee (1/54) bagged a wicket apiece.

Rain stops play.

We are feeling what Joey is feeling!#PBKSvKKR | #AmiKKR | #TATAIPL 2023 pic.twitter.com/z3vJGByYQY

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 1, 2023

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