At the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to bowl first. Sanju Samson made a statement that they need to win the game and that his team is fresh after having a break. Punjab fielded an unchanged eleven with Dhawan emphasizing on capitalising on the PowerPlay.
Arshdeep Singh and Sanju Samson were involved in a light banter ahead of a do or die clash at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
Trent Boult provided an early breakthrough in the very first over for Rajasthan by taking an excellent caught and bowled to pack off Prabhsimran Singh.
Atharva Taide teed off on arrival and was largely successful in helping Punjab maximise the PowerPlay. However, Navdeep Saini brought smiles back to the Rajasthan camp by removing the batsman, who fell after playing a 19-ball 12 cameo.
Adam Zampa made an impact immediately after being introduced into the attack by trapping Shikhar Dhawan who missed a sweep shot. Punjab was off to a good start but Rajasthan applied brakes with its bowlers making inroads.
Navdeep Saini picked a couple of key wickets and helped Rajasthan keep Punjab in check. The wickets of Atharva Taide and most importantly that of Liam Livingstone gave Rajasthan control as the innings progressed.
Navdeep Saini was impressive with the ball as the pacer deceived Jitesh Sharma and dismissed the batsman who was going all guns blazing. Saini broke the 64-run stand to help Rajasthan crawl back. into the game
Jitesh Sharma played a lovely cameo as the middle-order batsman hammered a 28-ball 44 to provide much-needed impetus to the Punjab batting. His knock was laced with 3 hits to the fence and an equal number of sixes.
Sam Curran hit an unbeaten 49 off 31 balls and helped Punjab post a challenging total on board. In the last 12 balls Curran along with Shahrukh Khan blasted 46 runs as Rajasthan bowlers leaked runs at the death overs.
Jos Buttler recorded his fifth duck of the season, the most ducks in a season by a batsman as Rajasthan got off to a poor start in a stiff run chase.
Devdutt Padikkal scored a fine half-century but failed to carry on with his innings as he fell for a 30-ball 51 with Arshdeep Singh having the last laugh.
Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a fine half-century in 36 balls and his innings was laced with eight boundaries, with the batsman striking at 138.39. Nathan Ellis provided a crucial breakthrough by removing the Rajasthan opener with Rishi Dhawan taking an excellent low catch at the point region.
Dhrul Jorel held his nerve and closed out the run chase as Rajasthan Royals kept its hopes alive for a place in the Playoffs.
Shimron Hetmyer played his part with a brilliant 28-ball 46 and his knock was laced with four boundaries and three sixes with the batsman helping Rajasthan secure a crucial win and stay alive in the tournament.
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