Kolkata Knight Riders bowler Varun Chakravarthy (right) with wicket keeper during the IPL 2023 cricket match between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on April 1, 2023. Photo Credit: PTI
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana elected to bowl after winning the toss against Punjab Kings in their opening match of Indian Premier League 2023 on Saturday.
Afghanistan player Rahmanullah Gurbaz is making his IPL debut for KKR while Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe has been named in the playing XI for Punjab Kings.
Malfunctioning floodlights cause delay
Kolkata Knight Riders’ goal in their IPL match against Punjab Kings was delayed by almost half an hour due to a fault in the floodlights.
The PCA-IS Bindra Stadium has a total of six floodlights at a comparatively low height.
Floodlight malfunctions are common in Indian stadiums and on the day KKR came out to bat, many of the bulbs in several towers did not turn on and it became a frustrating wait for the players, who then went inside the dressing rooms.
The maintenance of the stadium is the responsibility of the Punjab Cricket Association and the delay was certainly embarrassing for the local unit.
The reason for the blunder is yet to be ascertained but it is certain that the top brass of the PCA will pull up the BCCI stalwarts.
Teams:
Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mandeep Singh, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Anukul Roy, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakraborty.