Sam Curran defended 16 runs off the last over as Punjab Kings eked out a narrow five-run win against Rajasthan Royals in a thrilling IPL match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Impact player Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer dragged Rajasthan back into the contest with a brilliant 61-run partnership off 26 balls for the seventh wicket. However, Punjab held its nerve with Curran bowling a brilliant last over to deny Rajasthan a home win.
Australian pacer Nathan Ellis (4/30) starred with the ball, as Punjab struck regular blows to derail Rajasthan’s chase and record its second win on the trot.
Earlier, Punjab continued with its aggressive approach with the bat as openers Prabhsimran Singh (60) and Shikhar Dhawan (86) delivered the big blows to prop their side to a total of 197.
Dhawan, after starting slowly, turned it up a notch after getting to his half-century as he brought out his reverse sweeps and scoops.
A free-flowing Prabhsimran was comfortable against everything the Rajasthan bowling had to offer and had to walk back only after an excellent diving catch by Jos Buttler off Jason Holder’s bowling.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who came in at one-down, was forced to retire hurt after he got in the way of a thunderous drive from Dhawan.
Jitesh Sharma (27) and Dhawan ensured that Punjab wasn’t bogged down by Rajapaksa’s unlucky departure, as it targetted Yuzvendra Chahal, with the leggie ending up with figures of 1/50.
Rajasthan thought it pulled the game back in the death, as it gave away only 45 runs in the last five overs. But in the end, its effort proved to be insufficient in front of a concerted effort from Punjab.
Rajasthan’s chase never really took off as its rejigged top order – R. Ashwin was sent in as the opener instead of Jos Buttler – failed to fire.
Buttler was unlucky to depart after he edged an Ellis delivery into his pads, only for it to pop up for the bowler to complete a return catch, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ashwin offered much simpler catches to make their way back.
It was skipper Sanju Samson (42) who injected the Rajasthan’s chase with some vigour as he deployed the cut shot to great effect against the Kings’ spinners. But Ellis struck the big blow again as he had Samson caught at long off.
Local boy Riyan Parag contributed some lusty blows, much to the joy of an excited crowd before he was caught in the deep off Ellis.
Jurel thought he had swung the game into Rajasthan’s corner in the penultimate over as he smoked Arshdeep Singh for a couple of boundaries and a six, but Curran sealed the game with a tight last over.
Punjab Kings- Post-match press conference
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