What happened the last time RR hosted PBKS in Guwahati in the IPL?
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Punjab Kings (PBKS) are set to square off in the 65th match of the ongoing 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday, May 15. This will be the first game hosted by the venue this season.
The last time these two teams faced each other in Guwahati was in the eighth match of IPL 2023 as the venue played host to the Rajasthan-based franchise. It was a high-intense encounter where PBKS bagged a nail-biting five-run victory.
It all started with RR skipper Sanju Samson winning the toss and putting the opposition to bat first. Punjab were off to a tremendous start as openers Prabhsimran Singh and Shikhar Dhawan got to business from the word go.
The duo stitched together a 90-run partnership before Jason Holder got the first breakthrough by dismissing Prabhsimran in the 10th over. Their batting unit suffered another dent as their top-order batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa retired hurt in the same over after facing just one ball.
It was then the 66-run partnership between Dhawan and Jitesh Sharma that kept Punjab’s scoreboard ticking after the setbacks. RR’s spin duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin struck in back-to-back overs as PBKS lost two quick wickets.
But Dhawan played the captain’s knock, and even with little to no help from the middle-order batters, he kept the runs flowing and took the team’s total to 197/4 at the end of 20 overs. The PBKS skipper remained unbeaten on 86 off 56 balls.
Nathan Ellis halts RR's momentum
Coming in to chase, RR were handed an early blow as their in-form batter Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed in just the second over for an eight-ball 11. RR’s move of sending Ashwin to open the innings backfired too as he was dismissed in the fourth over for a four-ball duck.
Equal contributions from top-order batter Jos Buttler and middle-order batters Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, and Dhruv Jurel helped RR inch closer to the 198-run target.
After Arshdeep Singh’s early heroics, Nathan Ellis took charge with the ball and kept picking up wickets for PBKS at regular intervals. RR lost momentum as Ellis registered 4/30 in his four-over spell.
With 16 runs needed off the last six deliveries, Hetmyer and Jurel looked set to take their side to a win, but the former got run out on the third delivery of the final over, which cost the home team big time. As the equation came down to 12 runs off the last three balls, RR failed to get past the line and were held to 192/7.
The Punjab Kings, thus, registered a thrilling five-run win with Nathan Ellis being named the Player of the Match for his four-wicket haul.