‘Sam Curran ne match bacha liya bhai’ – Twitter abuzz as Punjab Kings overcome Rajasthan Royals by 5 runs in a nail-biter
Punjab Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by 5 runs in a nail-biter on Wednesday.
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Apr 6, 2023 12:09 am
Punjab (Source: Twitter)
Punjab got off to a fast start, thanks to Shikhar Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh, who combined for 63 runs in the first six overs. Prior to Jos Buttler’s stunning completion of a stunner to deliver the first punch for Rajasthan, Prabhsimran went on to score a scintillating 64 off just 34 balls.
Shortly after being wounded by a ball smacked by Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who joined the skipper in the middle, got up and departed the ground. The captain then added a second partnership of more than 50 with Jitesh Sharma, who Yuzvendra Chahal eliminated for 27 off 16 balls.
Sikandar Raja was exonerated by Ashwin’s carrom ball for just a paltry score of 1. Punjab were able to score a huge total of 197 on a pitch where the dew was supposed to play a major role. The chase will be tough but not impossible, considering the factors.
How did the chase pan out for the Rajasthan side?
Rajasthan didn’t make an encouraging start, having lost three of their wickets in the first six overs while pursuing 198 against Punjab Kings. By deploying Ashwin to start the inning with Yashasvi Jaiswal, the Royals tried something new but it didn’t work out.
Both Yashasvi, who scored 11 off 8 deliveries, and Jos Buttler, who notched up 19 off 11, were ineffective. In the center, Sanju Samson as well as Devdutt Padikkal were looking to go after the total. A great catch in the outfield meant that the skipper had to return to the pavilion. The Punjab bowlers have been pretty precise with their deliveries and are not letting the batters even get a connection with the bat.
The game was getting away from the Rajasthan side as Dhawan’s bowling choices were on point and were getting wickets at regular intervals. Nathan Ellis was the pick of the bowlers for Punjab as he was able to scalp four wickets in his first three overs.
Shimron Hetmeyer brought life back into the game and was hitting boundaries for fun and Dhruv Jurel became the right partner to help him out. They notched up a 50 run partnership off just 21 balls and the game was back on. But Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh ensured that Punjab win the game and they did so by 5 runs.
Fans react to an impressive victory for Punjab over Rajasthan in the Indian T20 League : –
Punjab Kings have defeated Rajasthan Royals by 5 runs.
Yet another nail biting encounter between them, an underrated rivalry!
