Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings took on each other in the 65th match of the ongoing IPL 2024, at the Barsapra Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. RR won the toss and decided to bat first which almost didn’t go well for them as they could post an ‘average’ total of only 144 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Star batter Riyan Parag ended up as the highest run-scorer for his side in the first inning, scoring 48 runs off 34 balls, with 6 fours, alongside Ravichandran Ashwin’s crucial 28 runs off 19 balls, with 3 fours and a six.
Besides these two, opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore and skipper Sanju Samson also scored 18 runs each for the Royals in the first innings.
Skipper Sam Curran, star pacer Harshal Patel and spinner KL Rahul scalped 2 wickets each for Punjab Kings in the first inning, alongside one wicket each picked by Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis.
Skipper Sam Curran leads run-chase from front for Punjab Kings
While chasing the target, the visitors Punjab Kings didn’t have an expected start as they lost their first four wickets just at the score of 36 runs in 4.5 overs. The star campaigner of this season Shashank Singh went back to the pavilion on a 2-ball duck as the third wicket of PBKS in the second innings.
However, skipper Sam Curran and middle-order batter Jitesh Sharma stitched a crucial 63 partnership for the first wicket before the latter was trapped by the star RR spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the 16th over of the second innings. Jitesh scored 22 runs off 20 balls, with 2 sixes; earlier in the innings, Rilee Rossouw also scored 22 runs off just 13 balls, with 5 fours.
Later, the skipper Sam Curran and ‘swashbuckling’ middle-order batter Ashutosh Sharma played the crucial unbeaten knocks of 63 and 17 runs off 41 and 11 balls, respectively to help Punjab Kings to chase down the target comfortably in 18.5 overs, scoring 145 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.
Eventually, Punjab Kings won the fight of their pride by winning the match by 5 wickets and the Royals faced the fourth consecutive defeat in the tournament.
Here’s how fans reacted to Punjab Kings’ win over Rajasthan Royals:
Proper bottling in second half of the league stage @rajasthanroyals 🤡. #PBKSvsRR #RRvsPBKS
— Deadshot2021 (@alwaysthalafan) May 15, 2024
Brilliant Innings by Sam Curran 💜
— Hamza 2.0 (@Hamza_Writes7) May 15, 2024
Sam Curran Leading Punjab Kings towards Victory against Rajistan Royals #RRvsPBKS #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/T9HVlDoYJV
Ek toh yeh joker qualify kar gaye ab inke 2 match aur khelne padenge 10th no team ko home ground par nahi jara paye bc 😭#RRvsPBKS
— Jayash Joshi (@JayashJoshi4) May 15, 2024
Somebody said 140+ runs thriller chahiye? #RRvsPBKS #PBKSvsRR #IPL2024live #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/ksN2urNbrx
— Cricket Freak (@cricketingfever) May 15, 2024
Hard luck for RR and Sanju Samson.#RRvsPBKS #PBKSvsRR #RRvPBKS #PBKSvRR #SanjuSamson #SamCurran pic.twitter.com/PqO0QUNqY7
— अंग जन संवाद (@anga_jana) May 15, 2024
50-plus score & 2 wickets in an IPL match as captain
— Arya Dwivedi (@mai_hu_arya) May 15, 2024
91 & 2/25 - Sourav Ganguly
50 & 3/22 - Yuvraj Singh
66* & 4/29 - Yuvraj Singh
54 & 4/17 - JP Duminy
63* & 2/24 - Sam Curran #RRvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/UjorOg7H3t
Punjab Kings Defeated Rajasthan Royals by 5 Wickets.,🥳
— आकाश द्विवेदी 🇮🇳 (मोदी जी का रिश्तेदार) (@Ashu3032) May 15, 2024
Riyan Parag || Sam Curran || Aswin || Avesh Khan || Jitesh || Top 2#RRvsPBKS #playoffs #ipl2024updates pic.twitter.com/utIutMTPpC
Rajasthan Royals in second half of IPL 😭#RRvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/NN7Z43r2r2
— lokendra choudhary (@lokendindoliya) May 15, 2024
Sam Curran's performance today was nothing short of phenomenal. His innings was a masterclass in controlled aggression, and his bowling was sharp and incisive. #RRvsPBKS T20 World Cup Riyan Parag Rajasthan Royals
— Satan (@Scentofawoman10) May 15, 2024
pic.twitter.com/w6AONYR4iz
Rajasthan Royals in 2024 IPL
— lokendra choudhary (@lokendindoliya) May 15, 2024
1st 9 matches - W W W W L W W W W
Last 4 matches - L L L L*#RRvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/uHZmJosviq
Sam Curran loves to spoil playoff spots for the team 😂😂 #pbksvsrr#rrvspbks pic.twitter.com/YWh5tm7Pbc
— gαנαℓ (@Gajal_Dalmia) May 15, 2024
Sanju Samson and his Rajasthan Royals lost fourth consecutive match against Punjab Kings,Sam Curran hits Winning 63* Runs,I Think That "Haarte Raho Puttar" Add of Sanju got real🤣
— Sanatan Dharm (@Sanatan21585814) May 15, 2024
Well played Sam Curran.#RRvsPBKS #SamCurran #RCBvsCSK#Jaiswal #playoffs pic.twitter.com/5vbxKm1Mzm
Winning Knock From The Captain #Samcurran ❤ Deserved Victory For Punjab ❤🔥#Pbks #Rrvspbks #RRvpbks pic.twitter.com/hBxGZf9Hku
— Jagan (@Dheena____Jagan) May 15, 2024
There are two types of IPL Team
— Hrishikesh Shirsath (@aye_hero_) May 15, 2024
1. Combination Clicks from 1st match, few players lose form/injuries struggle in 2nd half of IPL
2. Struggle to find combination, when combination clicks they go on winning streak #ipl2024updates #ipl2024 #RRvsPBKS #rajashtanroyals #rcb