Match overview
Punjab Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 45 runs in the IPL 2023 opener at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, on 1 April 2023. Batting first after losing the toss, Punjab Kings posted 191 for 5. Kolkata Knight Riders never got close in the chase, losing 3 wickets inside the powerplay and finishing on 146 for 7. Arshdeep Singh was named Player of the Match. The result means Punjab take the points, despite Kolkata holding a 21–13 advantage in the overall head-to-head across 36 meetings.
The margin of 45 runs understates how one-sided the match felt from the midpoint of KKR's chase. Once three wickets fell before the end of the sixth over, the middle order was always chasing the game rather than the total. The 90 runs KKR did manage in the middle overs were respectable, but the death closed out badly: 10 runs from the final phase for 1 wicket ended any lingering hope.
Venue and conditions
Mohali has hosted 101 matches, producing an average first-innings score of 211 and an average second-innings score of 190. Punjab Kings' 191 fell a fraction below the first-innings average, which suggests conditions were not unusually batter-friendly on the day. The venue's average powerplay score of 41 runs was comfortably surpassed by Punjab (56) and nearly matched by KKR (46), though KKR lost three times as many wickets in that phase.
The average death-overs contribution at Mohali sits at 40 runs. Punjab extracted 48 from theirs, KKR only 10. That death-overs gap of 38 runs accounts for a large portion of the final margin. Toss winners at this ground elect to field 60 per cent of the time, and the chase success rate across all 101 matches is 58 per cent, so conditions do tend to favour teams batting second in aggregate. This match was an exception, with Punjab making their first-innings total stick comfortably.
How to watch
IPL fixtures are broadcast in the UK on Sky Sports Cricket. Live streaming is available through Sky Go for existing subscribers and through NOW TV for those without a full Sky package. Match start times in Mohali are typically 15:00 IST, which translates to 10:30 BST, though evening fixtures (19:30 IST / 15:00 BST) are also common across the IPL schedule. Check Sky Sports' listings for confirmed UK broadcast windows across the full IPL calendar.
Recent form
Punjab Kings went into this match with a mixed recent record: three wins and two losses across their last five available results, including victories over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Gujarat Titans. Those results point to a side capable of performing against strong opposition, even if consistency has been a challenge.
Kolkata Knight Riders' equivalent five-match sequence showed three wins and two losses, with victories over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, and Rajasthan Royals offset by defeats to Lucknow Super Giants in two of those fixtures. Both teams came into this fixture with broadly similar form profiles, which made the powerplay performance the decisive differentiator. Punjab's ability to score freely early whilst KKR stumbled to 46 for 3 in the same phase proved the turning point the result hinged on.
