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Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan<\/a> equalled Virat Kohli<\/a>‘s massive feat during their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mohali on Saturday. The PBKS skipper was once again at his gritty best as he stitched together a solid 50-run partnership with Sri Lanka’s Bhanuka Rajapaksa for the second wicket. This was the 94th<\/sup> 50-run partnership for Dhawan in IPL history and he is now joint-top with Virat Kohli as the batsmen with the most half-century partnerships. Suresh Raina<\/a> is third with 83 while David Warner<\/a> is in fourth position with 82.<\/p>\n Dhawan was dismissed by Sunil Narine<\/a> after scoring 40 off 29 deliveries.<\/p>\n Earlier, KKR captain Nitish Rana<\/a> won the toss and decided to field first.<\/p>\n At the time of toss, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana said, “We will bowl first, it has rained in the last two days so there would be some moisture. I am excited because very few people get this opportunity. It is a game of cricket so there is not much pressure. The impact player rule is in its initial stage. We have to see that the decisions we take prove to be right. Russell, Narine, Gurbaz and Southee are our overseas players.”<\/p>\n Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan said, “We would have fielded first. We have got a balanced side, so hopefully we will do good. The team preparation has been good and we will look to dominate the game, hoping for a great season ahead. We are eager to win the trophy and I am looking to lead from the front. My overseas players are – Bhanuka, Nathan Ellis<\/a>, and Sam Curran<\/a>, don’t remember the fourth name.”<\/p>\n Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz<\/a>(w), Mandeep Singh<\/a>, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh<\/a>, Andre Russell<\/a>, Shardul Thakur<\/a>, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee<\/a>, Anukul Roy<\/a>, Umesh Yadav<\/a> and Varun Chakaravarthy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan(c), Prabhsimran Singh<\/a>(w), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma<\/a>, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza<\/a>, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar<\/a>, Rahul Chahar<\/a> and Arshdeep Singh.<\/p>\n (With ANI inputs)<\/p>\n