Chandigarh: Rajasthan Royals defeated Punjab Kings by three wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Saturday.
Asked to bat first, Punjab Kings, who played without their injured skipper Shikhar Dhawan, didn't get any momentum in their innings with lower-order batter Ashutosh Sharma (31), Jitesh Sharma (29) and Liam Livingstone (21) managing to take the team close to the 150-mark.
In reply, RR huffed and puffed their way to the victory target of 148 with a ball to spare, thanks to Shimron Hetmyer's 10-ball 27 after Yashasvi Jaiswal (39), Tanush Kotian (24), Riyan Parag (23) frittered away starts. Kagiso Rabada (2/18) was the best bowler for Punjab with his two wickets.
For RR, Keshav Maharaj (2/23) and Avesh Khan (2/34) picked up two wickets each, while Trent Boult (1/22), Kuldeep Sen (1/35) and Yuzvendra Chahal (1/31) bagged one each.
Live updates from the second innings
- Over 16-19.5 (152/7)
RR kept losing wickets at regular intervals and Punjab Kings seized the opportunity and kept building pressure on the visitors. They took the game deep while RR batters helped them playing little defensive shots. Harshal Patel picked wicket of Riyan Parag in his second over and then Sam Curran sent dangerous looking Rovman Powell and Keshav Maharaj in the dugout in the 19th over. However, Hetmyer kept his calm and displayed his power hitting skills to take his side home. RR beat Punjab by 3 wickets with a ball to spare when they were expected to finish the things off in 17-18 over.
- Over 11-15 (99/3)
Samson tried to steer the scoreboard to some extent but he is also playing some cautious shots and isn’t timing the shots quite well. RR also lost Yashasvi Jaiswal in the phase as he tried to attack a short delivery from Kagiso Rabada outside off but ended up lobbing a catch. Rabada also dismissed Samson in the 14th over with a delivery seaming in as it hit the batter on his pads. The match is turning out to be a thrilling contest now with the chasing side needing 49 runs from the last five overs.
- Over 6-10 (66/1)
Tanush Kotian returned to the pavilion as he tried a slog a delivery from Livingstone but failed and was clean bowled as a result. Jaiswal middling the ball but he is playing with a slow strike rate and the shot-making on the pitch is looking pretty difficult. RR need to set their foot on the pedestal otherwise they might find themselves in a tough situation.
- Over 0-6 (43/0)
Yashasvi Jaiswal is middling the ball while debutant Tanush Kotian is still getting into the groove. The young gun is experienced in high-level cricket while the upcoming star of Indian cricket, Yashsvi is finding gaps with his drives on both sides of the ground. The target is also quite low and so it has allowed Tanush to take his time to settle on the crease.
Live updates from the first innings
- Over 16-20 (147/8)
The PBKS have come up with a bizarre move to bat Liam Livingstone down the order. He whacked Sen for a four and a six in the 16th over but Avesh Sharma put a dent in the momentum by getting rid of Jitesh Sharma. Also, a mix-up in the middle sent Livingstone packing on a score of 21. Ashutosh Sharma kept on playing some quality strokes and scored 31 runs before Boult cleaned him up with a short ball.
- Over 9-15 (86/5)
It was Rajasthan Royals all over as the hosts lost two more wickets - skipper Sam Curran (6) and Shashank Singh (9) cheaply. The Punjab Kings batters made a beeline to the pavilion. While Curran was dismissed in the 10th over, Singh also perished cheaply as Punjab lost half the side for 70. Jitesh Sharma and Liam Livingstone were trying to forge a partnership. Keshav Maharaj conceded 12 runs in the 12th over. But the task is uphill for the PBKS batters as they need to give something for their bowlers to defend.
- Over 6-9 (50/3)
PBKS are in deep trouble as they lost a couple of wickets on the trot as two spinners did the trick. Prabhsimran Singh came down the pitch to attack the bowler but got too close to it and got no timing on the shot. Keshav Maharaj tossed a delivery outside off and England batter Bairstow gave an easy catch in the cover region at the 30-yard circle.
- Over 0-6 (39/1)
Although Bairstow has been out of form lately, Atharva Taide is middling the ball quite well and he hit two fours against Kuldeep Sen in the second over. Bairstow also hit a four but Avesh Khan repaid the faith of his skipper as soon as he was introduced into the attack and dismissed Taide with a short delivery.
There is some assistance for the bowlers on the surface so the scoring is not very easy just like the previous game played at the venue. This might not be a high-scoring affair today but a lot will depend on seamers from both sides.
- Playing XI
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Tanush Kotian, Keshav Maharaj, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal
Punjab Kings: Jonny Bairstow, Atharva Taide, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada
- Toss
RR won the toss and opted to bat.
