IPL 2024, PBKS vs RR: Simron Hetmyer’s cameo saw Rajasthan Royals win a thriller against Punjab Kings - top takeaways for Punjab and Rajasthan from the match.
Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals 152/7 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 39, Shimron Hetmyer 27 not out, Kagiso Rabada 2/18) beat Punjab Kings 147/8 (Ashutosh Sharma 31, Keshav Maharaj 2/23) by 3 wickets.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) made heavy weather of a target of 148 before beating Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 3 wickets in a thriller at Mullanpur in Game no 27 of IPL 2024 on Saturday. Rajasthan were helped by a cameo of 10-ball 27* by Shimron Hetmyer to chase down the target in the penultimate ball of the match.
Key Takeaways from PBKS vs RR, Match 27, IPL 2024 - Winning team (RR)
Spinners were the pick of the bowlers
Rajasthan spinners have been among the wickets this IPL season. Yuzvendra Chahal has taken at least a wicket every match this season. And he didn’t disappoint in this match either. He dismissed the dangerous Prabhsimran Singh and didn’t let the top-order flourish. Keshav Maharaj was playing just his second IPL 2024 match, and he impressed with his line and length. He took two important wickets in Jonny Bairstow and Sam Curran. The spinners had Punjab’s top order in tatters, making the job easier for the pacers to restrict the opposition.
Key Takeaways from PBKS vs RR, Match 27, IPL 2024 - Losing team (PBKS)
Top order remains a pain point for Punjab
Punjab’s top order has been inconsistent in IPL 2024 so far. The match against Rajasthan was no different. They were without their regular captain-cum-opener Shikhar Dhawan due to a niggle. The new opening pair of Atharva Taide (15) and Bairstow (15) could not take the team to a good start. Bairstow has been a big failure as he has managed just 96 runs in 6 innings at an average of 16.
No 3 batter Prabhsimran Singh also flattered to deceive, managing just 10 runs. He has got a start in almost every game this season but has failed to capitalize, hurting Punjab. Captain Sam Curran promoted himself to No. 4 but could manage just 6 runs. Once again, the burden of bailing the team out rested on the middle and the lower order. Punjab’s top-order needs to fire to give their team a chance this season to qualify for the playoffs.
Punjab bowlers did their best defending a small total
Punjab bowlers and fielders fought tooth and nail to defend a target of 148 before losing on the penultimate ball of the match. They showed great fighting spirit and took some brilliant catches on the field to make Rajasthan work hard for every run. Eventually, a cameo from Hetmyer denied Punjab who looked in the game till the very end. This loss, although disappointing, would give a lot of confidence to the Punjab unit as they would have realised that they could compete and give top teams a run for their money.
They would also take a lot of confidence from their bowlers’ performance who bowled tight spells to make the chase an uphill task for Rajasthan. Kagiso Rabada’s 2/18 deserves special praise as he was hard to score off as his pace, line and length were too hot to handle. He dismissed two dangerous players in Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal to keep Punjab in the hunt.
Read More: IPL 2024, RR vs RCB: Buttler, Samson shoulder successful chase for RR; Kohli's ton goes in vain
Statistical Highlights from PBKS vs RR, IPL 2024
With 11 wickets in IPL 2024 so far, Chahal has become the leading wicket-taker so far. Jasprit Bumrah is second with 10 wickets.
With 1/31, Chahal has reached 198 wickets in 151 IPL matches, just 2 wickets short of completing 200 wickets.
Coming to bat as low as No 8, Ashutosh has the best strike rate among Punjab batters this season. He is batting at a strike rate of 197.91 this season in just 3 matches.
Riyan Parag is having his best IPL season already with just 6 matches under his belt. He has scored 284 runs @ 71 in 6 matches with 3 fifties. In the previous 54 IPL matches over 5 seasons, he had just 2 fifties.
Points Table Scenario & What's Next
With this win, Rajasthan have strengthened their position at the top of the table, with 10 points from 6 games. Punjab remain at 8th having won just 2 games out of six. They need to start winning again or face an early exit from the tournament. Rajasthan faces Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 16, while Punjab will take on Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 18 next.
Up next in the league, a double header Sunday will see KKR host the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the first game. While an IPL classic await in Mumbai as MI take on arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
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