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Following his side's seven-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan said that he tried to use bowlers according to the situation and knew that all-rounder Sikandar Raza would be handy against left-handers.
The second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 ended after being interrupted by rain, with Punjab Kings (PBKS) defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven runs at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Saturday. "It is a great feeling to start the tournament with a win, we'll try to take the momentum in the next game and carry that confidence ahead. According to the situation I used those bowlers, good thing we have got plenty of bowlers in the side. I knew Raza was going to be handy against the left-handers, so he gave us three quality overs. Also have experienced bowlers like Sam Curran and Arshdeep in the side. I wanted to be aggressive and at the same time smart. Was trying to hold one end, and if I got out, someone else would do that. They are youngsters and they are learning. We all are living our dream and we should be happy about it. As a leader, I make sure the team stays relaxed and in a happy state of mind," said Dhawan in a post-match presentation. Coming to the match, Punjab Kings posted a massive 191/5 in their 20 overs after being put to bat first by Kolkata. Bhanuka Rajapaksa (50 off 32 balls with five fours and two sixes) played an explosive knock, with skipper Shikhar (40 off 29 balls with six fours) as an anchor during an 86-run stand for the second wicket. Sam Curran (26* in 16 balls) Prabhsimran Singh (23 in 12 balls) and Jitesh Sharma (21 in 10 balls) also kept the run rate up with their quick knocks. Tim Southee (2/54) was the pick of the bowlers for KKR. Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravorty and Umesh Yadav got a wicket each. In chase of 192, KKR lost wickets at regular intervals. They were reduced to 80/5, before Venkatesh Iyer (34 off 28) and Andre Russell (35 off 19 balls) guided the side to 130 runs, putting up fifty runs for the sixth wicket. When KKR was at 146/7 in 16 overs and needed 46 in the final four overs, rain interrupted the play and PBKS won the match by seven runs as per the DLS method. Arshdeep Singh (3/19) was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS with a spell of 3/19. Sam Curran, Nathan Ellis and Raza took a wicket each. Arshdeep won the 'Man of the Match' award for his lethal powerplay spell. Brief Scores: PBKS: 191/5 (Bhanuka Rajapaksa 50, Shikhar Dhawan 40, Tim Southee 2/54) beat KKR: 146/7 (Andre Russell 35, Venkatesh Iyer 34, Arshdeep Singh 3/19). (ANI)
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