Punjab defeats Kolkata in the first IPL match thanks to Rajapaksa.
AFP || Shining BD
Punjab Kings' Bhanuka Rajapaksa (R) celebrates after scoring a half-century (50 runs) during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Punjab Cricket Association I.S. Bindra stadium in Mohali on April 1, 2023. Photo: AFP
Bhanuka Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka scored 50 to help Punjab Kings defeat Kolkata Knight Riders by seven runs in their rain-delayed IPL opener on Saturday.
Punjab was asked to bat first in Mohali, and the left-handed Rajapaksa's 32-ball innings and a late surge by big-buy Sam Curran, who hit an unbeaten 26, helped Punjab reach 191-5.
Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh led the bowling charge with three wickets to restrict two-time champions Kolkata to 146-7 in 16 overs when rain stopped play and Punjab won by the DLS method.
Rajapaksa set the tone for the team's domination with skipper Shikhar Dhawan, who made 40, in an 86-run second-wicket stand before the Sri Lankan big-hitter departed.
Curran, a left-handed all-rounder who Punjab paid $2.23 million for in the December auction to make him the most expensive IPL player, demonstrated his value with a 17-ball blitz that included two sixes.
Among other T20 tournament innovations, Punjab replaced Rajapaksa with fast bowler Rishi Dhawan under the new "impact player" rule.
The impact player is chosen from among the five substitutes listed with the team, and is only permitted to be an Indian if there are no more than four foreign players in the starting XI.
Other changes include allowing captains to reveal their starting lineup following the toss and allowing teams to use the Decision Review System to challenge umpire calls for no-balls and wides.
The Kolkata innings was delayed by a nearly 30-minute floodlight outage, which was soon hampered by a double strike in one over by Arshdeep.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Nitish Rana, the captain of Afghanistan, also left before Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell, who both scored 35 runs, tried to take control of the chase in a 50-run stand.
But Curran's left-arm pace brought down the powerful Russell, and Arshdeep scored his third when he returned Iyer for 34 to stop the pursuit.
The 16th season of the lucrative league, which started in 2008 and has grown to become the richest cricket competition in the world, continues through May 28 with 74 matches.
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