At the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Saturday evening, Rajasthan Royals faced a difficult situation, but Shimron Hetmyer made sure he went off with a bang, slamming an unbeaten 27 off 10 balls as the visitors defeated Punjab Kings in a low-scoring thriller by three wickets to retain their lead in the points table.
With PBKS limited to 147/8 on a slow pitch, RR found themselves in difficulty at 115/5. As the pressure mounted, Hetmyer—who hasn’t played much this season—smashed three sixes and a four, including the game-winning shot, to help RR cross the finish line with one ball remaining. RR won the event for the fifth time, while PBKS suffered their fourth loss.
Another crucial five-ball eleven from Rovman Powell gave RR a narrow win in yet another final-over match between the two sides, which further aided him.
In pursuit of 148, Tanush Kotian, starting as an opener for the first time since Jos Butter’s injury, began the innings by cutting past Arshdeep Singh’s backward point and proceeded to pull the pacer for another boundary.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, on the other hand, timed his flip and drove skillfully to score two fours. RR didn’t lose a wicket in the power play for the first time in the IPL 2024, despite Kotian struggling to get going after hitting Rabada over mid-on for four. Jaiswal, however, cut off Sam Curran and was also assisted by a misfield to take two boundaries.
Soon later, Liam Livingstone castled Kotian when he attempted to remove dot-ball pressure with a powerful slog. Sanju Samson gave RR’s pursuit some much-needed optimism by hammering Livingstone for six and then pulling four. Rabada’s return to the team paid off for PBKS as Jasiwal trapped Samson leg before wicket in his subsequent over by upper-cutting a rising delivery to third man.
After Arshdeep trapped Parag in the deep off a top-edge, Harshal Patel completed a spectacular grab by getting Jurel caught by Shashank Singh as he was sprinting in from deep mid-wicket. Hetmyer gave the pursuit life when he muscled Harshal for four and pulled over backward square leg for six with 14 runs coming off the 18th over, with 30 runs needed off 14 balls.
Powell hit two consecutive boundaries off Curran before being removed by the pacer in the 19th over, when Keshav Maharaj was caught holing out to long-on. Ten runs remained in the last over after Arshdeep hit two consecutive wide yorkers and Hetmyer hit six straight to give himself a cushion. Hetmyer sealed a tight victory for RR with a brace to long-on before caroming a high full toss over fine leg for six to end the chase.
Earlier, Ashutosh Sharma showed off his amazing ball-striking skills by scoring a respectable 147/8 from a 16-ball 31. RR delivered their deliveries at a perfect length and pace, forcing PBKS to play bad shots that ultimately proved to be their undoing. This caused a top-order meltdown. Impact player Ashutosh provided some late pyrotechnics after Jitesh Sharma scored 29, helping PBKS score 61 runs in the final five overs.
In an outstanding middle-overs effort, Maharaj claimed 2/23 for RR, and Avesh Khan also claimed two wickets. Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kuldeep Sen all claimed a wicket as RR bowled with discipline.
Forced to bat first, PBKS was unable to get going as Atharva Taide top-edged a pull-off from Avesh. Kuldeep and Sanju Samson were both in line to make the catch, but Kuldeep managed to do so despite a little run-in.
PBKS struggled throughout the remainder of the power play, finishing at 38/1, which persisted into the middle overs. In his attempt to take on Chahal, Prabhsimran Singh went too far. When Jonny Bairstow attempted to smack a delivery from Maharaj, he gave the left-arm spinner his maiden IPL wicket by spooning a catch to cover. Then he grabbed his second scalp, a straight pluck from Curran to mid-wicket.
After dancing down the pitch to smash a four over Maharaj’s head, Jitesh eventually grabbed PBKS’s first boundary in the middle overs. Meanwhile, Shashank Singh blasted off the spinner for another boundary. However, Kuldeep caused Shashank to mishandle a draw, allowing Jurel to make his third catch of the game.
By lofting Chahal over extra cover for six and crunching Kuldeep for a loft down the ground to take another maximum, Jitesh gave PBKS’ innings some much-needed impetus. By heaving and swiping Kuldeep for four and six, respectively, Livingstone also established limits.
However, Jitesh misplayed the shot and gifted a catch to the fielder off Avesh in an attempt to go over mid-off. Livingstone was sent back by Ashutosh when he attempted a second run. By then, Kotian’s under-arm throw had been picked up by Samson, who had forced Livingstone to run out.
After being dropped at nine after a collision between Avesh and Samson for taking his catch, Ashutosh added the finishing touches with three vicious sixes, two of which went over long-on. He also forcefully struck a four through extra cover before being dismissed on the final ball of the PBKS’ stop-start innings due to a top-edge on the pull caught by backward point. However, it was not enough to deny RR their second victory away from home.
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