IPL 2023: Rajasthan retain playoff hopes, beat Punjab by 4 wickets in interesting match

In a spectacular match of IPL 2023, Punjab Kings got a crushing defeat by 4 wickets at the hands of Rajasthan. Batting first, Punjab Kings had scored 187 runs and Rajasthan had scored 188 runs to win, which the team achieved by losing 5 wickets. After the first wicket fell on the score of 12 runs in the form of Jos Buttler, a great partnership was made by Rajasthan between the in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal. Yashasvi scored 50 runs in 38 balls with the help of eight fours while Devdutt Padikkal played an innings of 51 runs in 30 balls which included 5 fours and 3 sixes. Hetmyer completed the rest of the work for Rajasthan in the last over. Hit Myer played an innings of 46 runs in 28 balls which included 4 fours and 3 sixes. Rabada got two successes from Punjab. With this win, Rajasthan’s hopes of making the playoffs remain alive, although they will have to depend on the results in Mumbai and Bengaluru. At the same time, the bleak hope for Punjab has also ended.

 

In addition to Sam Curran’s unbeaten 49-run innings, Punjab scored 64 runs in 44 balls with Jitesh Sharma (44) for the fifth wicket and 73 runs in 37 balls with Shahrukh Khan (41 not out) for the sixth wicket. The Kings posted a challenging score of 187 for five against the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League T20 match on Friday. The Punjab team was in trouble after losing the fourth wicket for 50 runs in the seventh over, but with the fearless batting of these three, the team was able to post a big score. The team scored 46 runs in the last two overs. England all-rounder Curran hit four fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 31-ball knock, while Jitesh hit three sixes and as many fours in his 28-ball innings. Shahrukh hit four fours and two sixes in his 23-ball unbeaten innings. Navdeep Saini was the most successful bowler for Rajasthan. He took three wickets for 40 runs. Trent Boult and Adam Zampa got one success each. Boult got Rajasthan off to a great start by dismissing Prabhsimran Singh (two runs) in the first over. After this, skipper Shikhar Dhawan (17) and Atharva Tayde (19) hit consecutive boundaries to hit 16 against Sandeep Sharma in the second over and 12 against Boult in the third over. Saini, playing the second match of the season, broke the partnership of 36 runs in 21 balls by dismissing Tayde. Boult and Zampa then conceded just three runs in the next two overs, putting the pressure on Dhawan to increase the run rate.

 

Jampa trapped Dhawan in his spin. In the next over, Liam Livingstone became Saini’s second victim, leaving Punjab four for 50. Jitesh Sharma hit two sixes against Sandeep in the ninth over to increase the momentum. He hit two fours and a six against Saini in the 14th over but was dismissed on the fifth ball of the same over. After this, Shahrukh and Curren were having trouble getting big shots from 16th to 18th over. Rajasthan captain Sanju Samson gave the ball to Yuzvendra Chahal in the 19th over in which Punjab scored 28 runs. While Shahrukh started the over with sixes and fours, Curren hit two sixes and a four in the last three balls. After this, Shahrukh also hit six and two fours against Bolt in the last over.