On Friday, the Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings met in an Indian Premier League 2023 match that both teams needed to win. Both teams were desperate to win the match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala in order to stay alive in the playoff race.
Winning the toss, Sanju Samson, the Royals' skipper, decided to bowl first. His decision proved right for the team as the bowlers took a few quick wickets. The powerplay saw Punjab Kings lose three wickets while scoring 48 runs. Trouble continued for them as in-form Liam Livingstone lost his wicket in the 7th over as well.
Jitesh Sharma, on the other hand, contributed to the ship's stability with a stunning 44-run knock in 28 balls. He was eventually dismissed by Navdeep Saini in the 14th over for a team score of 114. Sam Curran and Shahrukh Khan both got in on the action, hitting Yuzvendra Chahal all over the place. In his last over, the leg-spinner let up 28 runs. Curran and Shahrukh remained unbeaten for 49 and 41 runs, respectively, to enable the side to an above-par total of 187/5 in their 20 overs.
RR get a rocky start in the chase
In the chase, Jos Buttler, who was expected to deliver this match, continued to disappoint with a four-ball duck. However, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal took on the charge to get the runs for the team. While the former played the anchor role, the latter was striking the ball hard.
Padikkal (51 runs in 30 balls) raced to his half-century but was dismissed in the 10th over. Skipper Samson quickly followed him in the following over. Jaiswal (56 runs in 36 balls) also reached his half-century, but he did not last long, falling in the 15th over.
After that, Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer put up a brisk 32-run stand, but Kagiso Rabada removed the former on the last ball of his spell, leaving Rajasthan needing 19 runs in the final 12 balls. Hetmyer (46) got them close some boundaries after that, but a brilliant catch by Shikhar Dhawan sent him back.
With 9 needed in the last over, Rahul Chahar kept his nerve on the first three balls, but Dhruv Jurel smashed him for a six to get over the line. In the end, RR beat PBKS by four wickets to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Here is how fans reacted to RR's win
PBKS become 3rd team to be out from IPL 2023.#PBKSvsRR #RRvsPBKS
— Cric_tok x meme (@cric_tok) May 19, 2023
#2000Note #2000RS#2000notes #PBKSvsRR pic.twitter.com/gRT2n7GzRt
— CRYPTO MONK (@CRYPTOMONKIN) May 19, 2023
DHRUV JUREL entering in dressing room after playing match winning knock for Rajasthan Royals .#PBKSvsRR #IPLPlayOffs #Playoffs pic.twitter.com/wLvaXFXsie
— Ashutosh Srivastava (@Sri_Ashutosh008) May 19, 2023
How long will @bcci take to understand that Punjab kings is not a Team and Rahul chahar is not a bowler @HEYAKHANI #PBKSvsRR
— Di$mantled_Drúg (@Mirza17Mahtab) May 19, 2023
Rajasthan Royals won 😍
— Yamini Rahure (@yamini_rahure) May 19, 2023
But captain ki khushi nhi dikhi 😕#PBKSvsRR #RajasthanRoyals
#PBKSvsRR #RRvsPBKS #IPLPlayOffs
— g0v!ñD $#@®mA (@rishu_1809) May 19, 2023
Shikhar Dhawan sending Preity Zinta home pic.twitter.com/bzTldhuwQO
Bhale he Mai captain hu lekin merese batting nhi aati😭#PBKSvsRR pic.twitter.com/k3WpBvP66E
— Aarav Mishra (@aarav_mishra_) May 19, 2023
Congratulations #RR Fans 💗 Main Aaj Bhi Galat Ho Gaya 🙈 #PBKSvsRR https://t.co/iKGYQS5YiC
— Oggy 💙 (@SirOggyBilla) May 19, 2023
Brar responsible for the loss. First miss fielding then dropped catch and at last run out chance miss. #PBKSvsRR #IPL2023 #IPLPlayOffs
— Shailender gupta (@shail2601) May 19, 2023
If MI loses their next game then RCB can qualify even if they lose against GT but should make sure that they don't lose by a big margin.#PBKSvRR | #TATAIPL2023 | #PBKSvsRR | #IPL2023 | #RCBvGT | #RRvsPBKS
— Paritosh Kumar 🏏 (@ParitoshK_2016) May 19, 2023