Rajasthan Royals. (Photo Source: IPL)
Composed half-centuries from the young duo of Devdutt Padikkal and Yashasvi Jaiswal followed by a sensational cameo from Shimron Hetmyer down the order helped Rajasthan Royals edge past Punjab Kings by a margin of four wickets. It came despite the ruthless power-hitting from Sam Curran and Shahrukh Khan in Match Number 66 of the Indian Premier League 2023 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
The toss belonged to the visitors, as Sanju Samson & Co. opted to chase first. Trent Boult drew the first blood for RR as Prabhsimran Singh departed for two runs on the very second ball. Atharva Taide and Shikhar Dhawan showed intent in the setting, as the duo kept the scoreboard ticking by adding 36 runs in quick succession. Navdeep Saini broke the good-going partnership by picking Atharva Taide for a 12-ball-19.
Soon, Adam Zampa trapped Dhawan in front at the close of the powerplay. Right after the powerplay, Saini picked up his second wicket by cleaning up in-form Liam Livingstone with a peach of a delivery, as PBKS were left reeling at 50/4 in the seventh over. Jitesh Sharma and Sam Curran led the rescue with some solid batting. The duo added 64 runs for the fifth wicket; Jitesh amassed 44 runs off 28 deliveries in the course of the partnership, before being the third victim of Navdeep Saini at the end of 14 overs.
Sam Curran (49 off 31), however, kept the hitting going, as he along with Shahrukh Khan (41 off 23), added 73 runs for the sixth wicket. The duo went bonkers against the likes of the experienced Yuzvendra Chahal and Trent Boult, smashing them around the ground and scoring 46 runs in the last two overs to help PBKS post a massive total of 187/5 in 20 overs. For RR, Navdeep Saini was the pick of bowlers for his spell of 3/40 in four overs.
Chasing 188, Jos Buttler continued his poor form with the third consecutive duck, as Kagiso Rabada struck on his fourth ball. The pair of Devdutt Padikkal and Yashasvi Jaiswal kept the chase going by adding a valuable 73 runs for the second wicket during which, Padikkal rose to his ninth IPL fifty before Arshdeep Singh dismissed him for 51 off 30 balls at the close of the 10th over. In the very next over, Rahul Chahar sent Sanju Samson back to the hut for a score of two.
However, in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal continued to pile up runs, as he along with Shimron Hetmyer, kept the chase lively with some glorious-looking shots. As the duo added 47 runs in a brisk partnership, Jaiswal rose to his fifth fifty in the tournament before getting dismissed for 50 off 36. Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag then kept the chase going with their cameos.
Parag got dismissed for a 12-ball-20 when trying to finish the game before 18.3 overs, in order to pip RCB by Net Run Rate. Hetmyer then got dismissed in the 19th over after scoring 46 runs off 28 balls, leaving the equation at eight off the last over. Dhruv Jurel held on his nerves and finished off the proceedings in the last over to take RR over the finish line by a margin of four wickets.
Meanwhile, let us look at the stats and numbers from Match number 66 between PBKS and RR:
5 -Jos Buttler registered his fifth duck in IPL 2023, becoming the first player to score five ducks in an IPL season.
28 -Yuzvendra Chahal conceded 28 runs in his last over, which is the most runs conceded by Chahal in an over, overtaking his previous highest of 24 against KKR at Eden Gardens in 2014.
73 -The partnership of 73* between Sam Curran and Shahrukh Khan is the highest sixth-wicket partnership for PBKS in IPL. Previously, KL Rahul and Harpreet Brar scored an unbeaten 61 runs partnership against RCB at Ahmedabad in 2021.
3/40 -Figures of 3/40 are the best bowling figures for Navdeep Saini in IPL. His previous best figures were 2/24 against DC at Bangalore in 2019.
2 -Yashasvi Jaiswal (625) became the only second player after Jos Buttler to score 600 or more runs in an IPL season for RR. Jos Buttler scored 863 runs in 2022.
10 -Trent Boult has taken 10 wickets in the powerplay, which is the second most wickets by a bowler in the powerplay in IPL 2023. Boult surpassed Mohammed Siraj’s tally of 9 wickets. Mohammed Shami tops the list with 15 wickets
3 -PBKS became the third team to get eliminated in IPL 2023.
14 -This is the 14th time in 16 editions that PBKS have failed to qualify for the playoffs.
750 -Shikhar Dhawan completed 750 fours in IPL and is the only player to achieve this feat.
101 -Sam Curran (101) completed 100 sixes in T20s.
625 -Yashasvi Jaiswal has smashed 625 runs in IPL 2023, which is the most runs by an uncapped player in an IPL Season. Previously, Shaun Marsh scored 616 runs in 2008.