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In what was a low-scoring thriller, Rajasthan Royals (RR) got the better of Punjab Kings (PBKS) as they defeated the hosts by 3 wickets in the 27th match of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, 13 April.
Chasing a meagre target of 148 runs, Shimron Hetmyer powered the visitors with his 10-ball 27 to clinch RR's fifth win of the season in 19.5 overs.
Rajasthan’s chase started on a decent note, with openers Tanush Kotian and Yashasvi Jaiswal forming a solid partnership of 56 runs off 50 deliveries. However, their momentum was disrupted as Liam Livingstone dismissed Kotian for 24 runs off 31 balls.
Subsequently, captain Samson joined Jaiswal in the middle and the duo forged RR's second partnership, contributing 26 runs off 20 balls before Kagiso Rabada claimed Jaiswal's wicket in the 12th over. Harshal Patel, stationed at third man, took the catch to conclude Jaiswal's innings at 39 runs off 28 balls.
RR encountered another setback when skipper Samson fell victim to a Sam Curran delivery in the 14th over, dismissed via LBW after adding 18 runs off 14 balls to RR's total.
As the pressure mounted with 35 runs required off just 20 balls, Shimron Hetmyer entered the fray, narrowly escaping a dismissal following a caught-behind review. However, in the 18th over, his partnership with Jurel was broken as Shashank Singh held onto a catch off a delivery from Harshal Patel, ending Jurel's innings at just 6 runs (off 11 balls)
However, RR had the last laugh as Hetmyer slammed a maximum to seal a 3-wicket win for the visitors. The West Indies batter remained unbeaten at 27.
Earlier, Ashutosh Sharma gave yet another exhibition of his incredible ball-striking ability in the death overs by making a 16-ball 31 to propel Punjab Kings to a respectable 147/8.
On a pitch that seemed a little tricky to bat, PBKS suffered a top-order meltdown as RR nailed the length and pace of deliveries very well and forced them to play poor shots, leading to their downfall.
Pushed into batting first, PBKS suffered their first blow when Atharva Taide top-edged a pull off Avesh and with both Kuldeep taking his catch.
The rest of Power-play was a struggle for PBKS as runs were hard to come by and they ended the phase at 38/1. Prabhsimran Singh tried to go big against Chahal but didn’t have any timing on the loft and holed out to long-on. Jonny Bairstow tried to slap a delivery from Keshav Maharaj over the off-side, but spooned a simple catch to cover, giving the left-arm spinner his first IPL wicket. Trouble continued for PBKS as stand-in captain Sam Curran dragged a pull straight to mid-wicket off Maharaj.
Ashutosh provided finishing touches by smashing three brutal sixes before a top-edge on the pull caught by backward point led to his dismissal on the last ball of the PBKS’ stop-start innings.
With inputs from IANS.
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