Punjab Kings 191 for 5 (Rajapaksa 50, S Dhawan 40, Southee 2-54) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 146 for 7 (Russell 35, Arshdeep 3-19) by seven runs (DLS method)

For most of the contest, Kolkata Knight Riders were behind the run of play against Punjab Kings.

But Russell fell next ball to Curran. Venkatesh perished in the next over. And the DLS ballooned beyond reach. Despite Shardul Thakur and Sunil Narine scoring 15 off five balls between them, Kings held on to stay ahead, and when rain finally stopped play, the DLS table showed the hosts were seven ahead, just enough to pocket two points in their season opener.

Kings were excellent with the bat as well, especially Bhanuka Rajapaksa who made a 32-ball 50. His knock lifted Kings to 100 for 1 in ten overs, but they failed to get a boost at the death, finishing only on 191 for 5. At the time, it looked like a score that was just about par on a batting-friendly surface. In the end, it was enough.

Impact Player's impact

When Rajapaksa was out in the 11th over, he held up his end of the bargain for the Kings to post a big total. His replacement, Rishi, conceded 15 in the only over he bowled.

Inexperienced Knight Riders crumble

Knight Riders' batting always gave the impression that they would either impress magnificently or crash and burn. More so with their regular captain Shreyas Iyer also missing. They went with one of their most inexperienced top-six units, and both Mandeep Singh and Anukul Roy struggled against Arshdeep's accurate short-pitch bowling that was aimed at their necks.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz sparkled with three fours and a six to race to 22 off 16, but when he fell as the third wicket, the rest of the chase was an uphill battle. Nitish Rana made 24 in 17 and Rinku Singh was out cheaply too, leaving old hands Venkatesh and Russell to do the repair job.

Eventually, it was Curran who brought the breakthrough with a short ball that had Russell pulling to midwicket. Narine and Shardul gave Knight Riders a brief glimmer of hope, but that was about it.

A solid Punjab Kings performance

Kings were inserted in at the toss, and Prabhsimran's 12-ball 23 was the perfect start for them. Even though Shikhar was starved for strike, it didn't impact Kings' scoring rate because of Rajapaksa's assault, especially on Narine. In all, Rajapaksa muscled five fours and two sixes to reach his half-century in 30 balls.

After his dismissal, Jitesh Sharma took over, smacking 21 in 11. Even when Varun bowled Shikhar for 40 to make it 143 for 3 in 14.3 overs, Kings aimed for 200-plus. But a couple of quiet overs from Varun restricted their progress. Raza, Curran and Shahrukh Khan put together small cameos to score 53 in 37 balls between them at the death, and even if that left Kings a little disappointed, Arshdeep's new-ball spell in the second innings ensured their victory.