Punjab Kings players celebrate the fall of an RR wicket.© BCCI/IPL
The 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) witnessed a thriller in Guwahati on Wednesday, as Punjab Kings passed Rajasthan Royals by five runs. First, Punjab Kings hit a total of 197/8 in 20 overs. In reply, Rajasthan Royals came close with some late blooms from Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel, but eventually fell short by five points. The victory lifted Punjab Kings (4 points, NRR +0.333) to second place in the points table. The loss dropped Rajasthan Royals (2 points, NRR + 1,675) to fourth place. The Hardik Pandya led Gujarat Titans are ranked #1 in the table (4 points, NRR +0.700)
Orange cap
PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan, who scored a brilliant 86*, climbed to third place in the list of the highest points scorers with a total of 126 points. RR captain Sanju Samson is fourth with a total of 97 runs. However, the Orange Cap remains owned by Ruturaj Gaikwad of Chennai Super Kings with a total of 149 points in two matches.
Purple cap
PBKS pacer took four wickets to move up to fourth in the points table with five wickets in total. RR’s Yuzvendra Chahal also has five wickets and is in fifth place. However, the Orange Cap belongs to Mark Wood of Lucknow Super Giants, who has eight wickets.
Speaking of the game, Shikhar Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh crushed stylish half-centuries before Nathan Ellis’s ball-handling exploits led Punjab Kings to a nerve-wracking five-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match, here on Wednesday.
Young Prabhsimran (60) and veteran skipper Dhawan (86 not out) thrashed the Rajasthan Royals attack to propel Punjab Kings to a challenging 197 for 4 after being asked to bat.
The Royals were then overwhelmed by Ellis (4/30) before Shimron Hetmyer (35) and young ‘Impact Player’ Dhruv Jurel (32 out of 15) forged a 62 run partnership to get Rajasthan back in the game.
But Sam Curran, IPL’s most expensive foreign recruit, justified his top bill by brilliantly defending 15 in the last over to limit the Royals to 192 for 7.
With PTI inputs
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