IPL 2021 Points Table: Updated standings after RR pull off a magical heist over PBKS
If you are a Punjab Kings (PBKS) fan, it doesn't get any worse than this for you.
Surely they had to win when KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal cruised to a 120-run opening stand. Surely they had to win when they needed just eight runs in the last two overs, with batsmen of Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran's caliber set at the crease. But somehow - it's always the 'somehow' that does the trick - the horrors of IPL 2020 returned and PBKS imploded to lose the game by two runs.
If you are a Rajasthan Royals (RR) fan, well you have every reason to be confusingly giddy. Because like you, no one else expected them to pull this off, not even Sanju Samson. Credit for all that goes mostly to the RR openers and Mahipal Lomror on the batting front. Mustafizur Rahman and the young Kartik Tyagi then shone with the ball, with the duo holding their nerves of titanium to concede just five runs between them in the final two overs.
A quick look at the updated IPL 2021 points table
What it means for RR?
This team. 💗 https://t.co/RGhkin5O5i
Kumar Sangakara in the RR dugout would be mighty pleased to see his team, which finished eighth last year, now tied with the defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) for eight points in the points table. RR have just pipped over last night's winner, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), to now sit at No.5, just behind the MI on net run rate (NRR).
They are now frontrunners in the race for the fourth spot in the qualifiers and a win like this will only fill them with more confidence. The batting was a huge positive for them this game and if the Jofra Archer-less bowling lineup can hold its ground in the coming games as well, the Men in Pink could be the dark horse for the IPL 2021 trophy.
RR now need to win four games out of the next six to make it to the qualifiers but three might suffice as well. They will now play against Rishabh Pant's Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday and will look to go one step further and help their NRR.
What it means for PBKS?
💔 https://t.co/qvZH3i5qvE
Except for the unbriddled disappointment that might take the rest of the tournament to get over? Not much.
PBKS have now slipped to seventh spot in the points table with just three wins from nine matches. This means PBKS need to win every game from here on to breach that 16-point mark. MI have done this before and last year, such a situation brought out the best in Rahul's men too. But on both those occasions the teams were settled and clear in their mindset, which isn't the case with PBKS right now.
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Their NRR is a mess at -0.345 as well. It will require a miraculous run, led by a more responsible middle-order and some smarter selection choices from the coaching staff to pull PBKS out of it. All of this will have to start when they meet the only worse team in IPL 2021 so far, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), on Saturday in Sharjah.
Impact on the other teams in the points table
RR's win would have sounded some warning bells for both MI and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), whose performances have dipped from the first half of the tournament. Also interested would be Eoin Morgan's KKR team, who are just one win away from leveling with RR, but also just one defeat shy of being in PBKS's position.
This mid-table battle is heating up and the next few games could be worth more popcorn than the qualifiers themselves.