Shimron Hetmyer's determined and entertaining knock helped Rajasthan Royals secure a three wicket win over Punjab Kings in a last-over thriller at the Mullanpur stadium on Saturday, April 13, 2024. It was the Punjab Kings' second defeat on their home turf.
On a sluggish track, the Rajasthan bowlers kept the Punjab batters quiet till the death overs as they made 147 for 8.
Punjab bowlers then kept striking at regular intervals, taking advantage of the conditions before Hetmyer guided Rajasthan to victory.
The best bowlers in the game:
Kagiso Rabada
The South Africa paceman made the most of the conditions. He kept his lengths tight, pitching the ball up, bowling full and in that channel of uncertainty.
In his first over he gave just five runs. He continued to be stingy and kept the batters guessing. Rabada gave very little away to keep the pressure on Rajasthan on one end.
He got Yashasvi Jaiswal's wicket in the 12th over, the third of his spell. He bowled a short bouncer, the batter went to play the upper cut and was caught at third man.
In his next over Rabada had Sanju Samson out LBW. His spell cost just 18 runs with two wickets to boot.
Rabada bowled the yorkers and got a few to nip back in; his spell was incisive as he got the two big fish.
Sam Curran
Left-arm pacer Curran led Punjab with his exemplary bowling.
Having to defend 148, the bowlers had to come up with the goods. Curran brought himself on early in the innings and mixed his deliveries.
On a surface that was gripping, he bowled the slower deliveries to good effect. He bowled some excellent full length deliveries and beat the batters on the outside. He bowled to his field and had the Rajasthan batters in all sorts of trouble.
In the final over of his spell, he took on the challenge against Rovman Powell. He was hit for a couple of fours by the West Indian, but Curran got his revenge as he had Powell hole out a short bouncer to the fielder in the deep. Curran then had Keshav Maharaj out for 1 and drag the match into the last over.
His 2 for 25 are stuff of dreams; he also got his 50th IPL wicket in the process.
Trent Boult
The left-arm pacer has never let his team down, repaying the faith of his captain and coach time and again.
After not being given the ball in the Powerplay overs against Gujarat Titans in the last match, Captain Sanju Samson learnt his lesson and gave the experienced campaigner the ball in the first six overs.
And look how that turned out! Boult stuck to the plan, made use of the conditions, mixed his lengths and bowled tight lines to make shot making difficult. He beat the bat on a few occasions and gave just 16 runs in his three overs he bowled in the Powerplay overs.
Boult came back to bowl the final over with Ashutosh Sharma batting like a man possessed and had the last laugh when he had Ashutosh out off the last ball of the innings. Boult's spell read an impressive 4-0-22-1.
Avesh Khan
Avesh, making use of the sticky surface, started off his spell brilliantly. Punjab were 27 for no loss in the fourth over when Avesh was introduced into the attack and he quickly got the first breakthrough.
He bowled a short bouncer to Atharva Taide, the Punjab opener came down the track, tried to play the pull shot, miscued and top edged it to be caught by Kuldeep Sen.
Save for one overpitched ball in the next over that was drilled to the boundary, Avesh bowled another fine over giving just seven runs to ensure Punjab scored a below par 38 for 1 in the Powerplay overs.
In his second spell he dismissed a well set Jitesh Sharma (29 off 24). He was smoked for 18 runs by Ashutosh Sharma in the final over of his spell after he was put down thanks to miscommunication between Samson and another fielder.
Avesh eventually went for 34 runs off his 4 overs, but he hit the right spots and got the wickets at the right time to peg Punjab back.
Keshav Maharaj
In just his second IPL match, the left-arm spinner struck in his very first over to get his maiden IPL wicket after Jonny Bairstow spooned an easy catch to the fielder at cover.
He struck another blow when Sam Curran pulled the ball only to have Dhruv Jurel dove forward to take a fine catch. Maharaj's two wickets put the brakes on the Punjab innings.
Shashank Singh and Jitesh Sharma took Maharaj on with a couple of boundaries but in the end his figures read 2 for 23. He was economical and did not bowl too many gift deliveries.
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