Cricket

'Lord Thakur jeeta deta yaar' - Fans react as Kolkata suffer defeat in their first match of Indian T20 League 2023 against Punjab

The result of the game was decided by rain and Punjab begin the season a winning note. They win on DLS method.

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Daniel S
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Punjab defeated Kolkata (Source - Twitter)

Punjab defeated Kolkata (Source - Twitter)

The 2nd match of the 16th edition of the Indian T20 league was played between Kolkata and Punjab at the Punjab Cricket Association IS  Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Saturday, April 1. The two-time champions started their campaign with a loss by 7 runs. However, the match was affected by rain in the end as Punjab won the match by DLS method.

Talking about the match, Kolkata won the toss and opted to bowl first. But the decision didn't prove right as Punjab got a great start by openers Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, and the middle-order batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa. They didn't spare a single fast bowler and smashed almost every ball for boundaries and continued the attack even after the powerplay.

However, just when it was looking that Punjab can cross the 200-run mark easily, the excellent spells from Umesh Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy helped the Kolkata-based franchise to pull things back. But still, the Dhawan-led side managed to achieve a great total of 191 runs in 20 overs. Rajapaksa played a brilliant knock of 50 runs off just 32 deliveries which included 5 sixes and 2 fours.

A brilliant all-round performance by Punjab

Tim Southee was the highest wicket-taker for Kolkata as he dismissed 2 batters but conceded 54 runs in his 4 overs quota. Yadav and Chakravarthy were the only bowlers who have an economy rate under 7. Chasing the target, the Nitish Rana-led side had a poor start as they lost their first three wickets on the score of just 29 runs as fast bowler Arshdeep Singh thrashed Kolkata's top order.

However, later, there was a resurrecting job done by Venkatesh Iyer, who was drafted in as an Impact player and skipper Nitish Rana but the latter fell to Sikandar Raza, and Rinku Singh fell early. At that stage, Andre Russell joined Iyer and the duo took the attack to Punjab. But both lost their wickets and then it started raining. Kolkata were behind by 7 runs on DLS par when the match was stopped.

Here's how fans reacted:

Indian Premier League 2023