Rajasthan Royals' first home game of the season, played in Guwahati, saw Sanju Samson's team also handed their first defeat of the season as Punjab won Game 8 of IPL 2023 by 5 runs, on Wednesday night at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium.
Punjab were put into bat first and posted 197/4 as skipper Shikhar Dhawan carried him bat to score 86. The big star of the innings though was 22-year-old Prabhsimran Singh who smashed a 28-ball half century to give the teams the perfect start.
In reply, Rajasthan's chase never really got off the mark with the team reduced to 57/3 in 6 overs. At one stage, RR needed 74 runs off the last 30 balls, but then Dhruv Jurel entered to make his debut, as the impact substitute. The 22-year-old smashed 32 off 15 deliveries and Shimron Hetmyer hit 36 off 18 to get the 'home team' to needing 16 off the last over.
Shikhar Dhawan handed the ball to Sam Curran and the most expensive player in the league's history pulled it back for Punjab, conceding just 10 runs as Punjab won by 5 runs.
Punjab Posted 197/4
Earlier in the day, Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to chase. Prabhsimran Singh gave Punjab a strong start, hitting Trent Boult for a boundary over the covers and smashing a six off the bowling of K.M Asif in the first two overs. Shikhar Dhawan also then switched gears in the third over, slamming back-to-back boundaries off Boult.
Prabhsimran continued with his merry ways as he slammed Asif for three boundaries and a six, taking 18 runs off the fourth over. He followed it up with two fours against Ravichandran Ashwin in the next over.
Jason Holder created a chance to dismiss Prabhsimran, who ended up slicing the hit and the ball swirled in the air, but Devdutt Padikkal lost balance while trying to clutch and the ball slipped off his fingers. With just seven coming off the sixth over, PBKS posted 63 for no loss in the powerplay.
After the powerplay, RR bowlers kept PBKS' run rate in check with just two big hits coming in the next four overs. In between, Prabhsimran completed his maiden IPL half-century with a single, off 28 deliveries, in the eighth over before falling to Holder in the tenth over for 60. He ended up slicing he ball and it went aerial and Buttler plucked a sensational catch, diving forward after running in from long-off, ending the 90-run opening partnership.
Halfway through the innings, PBKS were 92/1.
The next over, Punjab suffered another blow as Bhanuka Rajapaksa was taken off the field by the physios after getting hit in the forearm on his right hand by Dhawan's shot. Jitesh Sharma then came to join Dhawan and shifted the gears in the 12th over, hitting Chahal for two successive boundaries. That was followed by a brilliant six by Dhawan, who launched the ball powerfully over long-on, collecting 18 runs off the over. An over later, Dhawan brought up his 48th IPL fifty with a boundary.
Dhawan and Jitesh accelerated the run rate with their calculated batting and stitched a 66-run stand for the second wicket, which Chahal broke in the 16th over, dismissing Jitesh for 27.
After the strategic time-out, Dhruv Jurel came in as an impact player, replacing Chahal.
On the very first ball of the 17th over, Ravichandran Ashwin cleaned up Sikander Raza for 1 as the Royals lost two wickets in no time. In the final over, Holder got his second in the form of Shahrukh Khan, who scooped it in the air towards long-on and Buttler ran in, and slid forward to take a fine catch.
With 45 runs coming off the last three overs for the loss of two wickets, PBKS posted a total of 197/4 in 20 overs.
Rajasthan's Chase
RR started the chase with a change in their batting line-up as Ravichandran Ashwin came out to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal as Buttler went off the field immediately after taking the catch in the last over.
Jaiswal started with an impressive six over square leg but in the very next over, Arshdeep Singh struck to dismiss him for 11, and Buttler came out to bat.
Sam Curran almost got Buttler in the third over, when he flicked a pull and Harpreet Brar charged in towards deep square leg but fell and the ball popped out of his grasp. Then, Buttler capitalised on the drop catch with an amazing boundary over mid-wicket.
In the next over, Arshdeep removed Ashwin to reduce the Royals to 26/2 within four overs. After a dot ball, Samson went for a six and completed 1000 runs for RR as captain.
Samson and Buttler then took the Punjab bowlers to cleaners with their well-timed shots before Nathan Ellis caught and bowled Buttler for 19. The Royals were then reeling at 57/3 at the end of the powerplay.
Ellis struck again in the 11th over to pile further misery on the Royals as he trapped skipper Sanju Samson for 42, reducing RR to 91/4, as the home favourite Riyan Parag came into bat.
With 12 runs needed per over from thereon the onus was on the young duo of Devdutt Padikkal and Parag to take their side over the line. Parag infused life into the game with a six off Rahul Chahar in the 12th over and then followed it up with another in the next.
Ellis claimed his third wicket in the 15th over, dismissing Parag for 20 off 12. In the same over, Ellis cleaned up Padikkal on a length ball, claiming his fourth and making the task tougher for the Royals.
Then, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel went for hits to keep the hope alive, bringing the equation to 34 runs in 12 balls.
In the penultimate over, after a dot and a wide, Jurel hit a four on Arshdeep's Yorker and followed it up with a maximum to deep extra cover, in the process he and Shimron completed the fastest fifty-run partnership off just 20 balls.
The 22-year-old Jurel then hit a boundary over on the next ball and brought the equation down to 16 in 6.
Sam Curran started the final over by giving a single and a double. On the third ball of the over, Hetmyer got run out, and 12 was needed in three to win. But Curran held his nerves and gave away just seven runs off the next three deliveries as PBKS wrapped up the win by 5 runs.
(With inputs from IANS)
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