The second match of the IPL 2023 saw Punjab Kings (PBKS) challenging Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the PCA-IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on April 1, 2023. This match saw both franchises having a new captain at the helm.
Shikhar Dhawan led the Punjab side, while Nitish Rana was captaining KKR and also won the toss and chose to bowl first.
PBKS got a good start with Shikhar Dhawan (40) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (50) and Prabhsimran Singh (23) going after the bowlers. But then KKR managed to control the run flow though Sam Curran (26* in 17) helped PBKS to 191/5 in 20 overs.
Ahead of the start of the KKR’s chase, a lot of bulbs in multiple towers didn't turn on and it became a frustrating wait for the players, who then went inside the dressing room. Punjab Cricket Association is responsible for the upkeep of the stadium and this was an embarrassment for the cricketing body.
The delay continued for a good 30 minutes and this had an effect on everything, including the broadcasters. This will cause the match to end well after 7:30 pm, the time when the next game starts.
As of now, the cause of malfunction hasn't been known but it is a given that PCA brass will get a rap on the knuckles from the BCCI bigwigs.
Meanwhile, as the teams and crowd waited for the floodlights to come on, KKR took opportunity to post a short clip from their co-owner Shah Rukh Khan’s hit ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’, in which the actor played an employee of Punjab Power.
Check it out here:
Not only KKR, the netizens took potshots at the facility and the Punjab government as well for the failure of this kind.
Here are the best tweets:
