IPL 2023 PBKS vs KKR: Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s fifty, fiery cameos help Punjab Kings post 191 on board

New Delhi: Punjab Kings, led by Shikhar Dhawan, showed great intent in batting as they post 191/5 on board. Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored a cracking 32-ball fifty while Dhawan scored 40 off 29 to set the stage and it was Sam Curran’s 26* off 17 that gave Punjab Kings the required finish after they lost two crucial wickets

PBKS got a good start after Prabhsimran Singh fired 23 off 12, hitting two fours and two sixes while Jitesh Sharma played a crucial cameo of 21 off 11. Prabhsimran hit Tim Southee for a couple of fours and a six in an over before getting caught behind in the second over.

Varun Chakravarthy picking up Shikhar Dhawan and just giving one run in the 15th over changed the course of the inning a bit for KKR. Sunil Narine also struck in the death to hinder the run rate but Curran and M Shahrukh Khan scoring 15 runs in the last over helped their team to get a fine total on the pitch.

The 86-run partnership in 54 balls between Dhawan and Rajapaksa got the scoreboard going where the Sri Lankan batter played the aggressor and the skipper played an anchor role. It was Umesh Yadav who came and broke the stand by dismissing Rajapaksa as Rinku Singh took a comfortable catch. While all the bowlers went for runs, Umesh and Varun stood apart by picking a wicket each and giving just 27 and 26 runs respectively in their quota of four overs.

The in-form Sikander Raza scored 16 off 13 and when he started to change gears, Narine got him off a flighted delivery.

While Tim Southee was the leading wicket-taker for KKR, he went for a whopping 54 runs as he picked two wickets while Shardul Thakur ended up with none for 43. The use of just five bowlers and not using Anukul Roy and Andre Russell poses a question mark on Nitish Rana’s captaincy.