Sam Curran's 3 best moments in IPL 2024
Punjab Kings (PBKS) restored some lost pride on Wednesday (May 15) after beating the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on the back of a splendid all-round showing from Sam Curran. The stand-in skipper Curran, who has led Punjab for the majority of the tournament in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, played a pivotal part in Punjab winning their fifth match of the competition.
Following the win against Rajasthan, both Sam Curran and his English teammate Jonny Bairstow flew to England to join the team ahead of the four-match T20I series against Pakistan. All the English players selected for the T20 World Cup have left the ongoing IPL to start their preparations for the mega event.
Punjab had a relatively tough season as they failed to make the IPL playoffs for the 10th time in succession. The emergence of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma has been one of the very few bright spots for Punjab in the 17th edition of the tournament.
Curran led the team well in patches but the consistency factor was missing and they couldn't quite seize the opportune moments during crucial phases of the game. They will be without the services of Curran for the final group game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on (Sunday) May 19.
Having said that, let us have a look at the three best Sam Curran moments from IPL 2024:
#3 An impressive bowling performance against the Lucknow Super Giants
Curran might not have had the best of IPLs but he is certainly one of the impactful players who can turn a game with both the bat and the ball, and also on the field. It was during Punjab's third game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) that Curran bagged his best figures of the season with a three-wicket haul.
He bowled brilliantly in the middle overs and accounted for Devdutt Padikkal, Ayush Badoni and Ravi Bishnoi to put LSG on the backfoot. However, impressive knocks from Quinton de Kock, Krunal Pandya and Nicholas Pooran helped LSG post a more than competitive 199, which proved to be enough in the end.
Curran was dismissed for a duck. Shikhar Dhawan played well, scoring 70 off 50 balls but it wasn't enough to take Punjab over the finish line. Meanwhile, the English all-rounder Sam Curran would be hoping for a turnaround in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
#2 Curran started the tournament with a brilliant half-century against DC
While Curran wasn't at his consistent best during the course of the tournament, he started it off with a match-winning half-century against the Delhi Capitals (DC) as they got off to a winning start. He took the responsibility in the middle overs and ensured that Punjab chased down the target of 175 in the final over.
Curran only bowled a solitary over as the Capitals posted a below par 174 after being put into bat by Shikhar Dhawan. None of the DC batters were able to convert their starts into a big score which didn't allow the Capitals to accelerate and put on a massive score.
Punjab lost a couple of wickets inside the powerplay but the likes of Prabhsimran Singh and Sam Curran didn't allow the required rate to climb drastically. They batted sensibly by rotating the strike but also kept finding the gaps pretty consistently.
Liam Livingstone joined Curran after the departure of Prabhsimran Singh and ensured they got close to the target. Curran was dismissed in the 19th over after a well-made 63 but Livingstone ensured that Punjab got over the line with four deliveries remaining.
#1 An exceptional all-round performance in his final game
Curran wanted to express himself and lead from the front in his final IPL game this season and he didn't disappoint. During the toss, Curran stated that he believes in character and hoped that he could rub it onto his teammates. Curran gave himself the new ball and took the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal in the very first over.
He came for his final spell where he took off Dhruv Jurel to push Rajasthan further on the backfoot. Punjab lost their way in the powerplay and were reduced to 36/3 inside the powerplay. The skipper came into bat at a crucial juncture of the game and steadied the sinking ship with important stands with Jitesh Sharma and Ashutosh Sharma.
Curran didn't allow the required rate to creep up drastically and kept finding the boundaries pretty regularly. It was a Ravi Ashwin over which turned the tide towards Punjab and there was no looking back from there on. Curran remained unbeaten on 63 off 41 deliveries which included five fours and three sixes.