Head to Head comparison of matches played and won between the two teams shows that out of 22 matches played between them, RR has a marginal upper hand with 12 wins whereas PBKS is not far behind with 10 wins.
#PBKS have won the toss and they will bowl first against #RR.
K. L Rahul, the captain of Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to bowl first against Rajasthan Royals. From the PBKS side Aiden Markram, Adil Rashid, and Ishan Porel were debutants. Whereas RR fielded Evin Lewis as a debutant.
RR batted first and they seem to be on booster dose from the very start. The openers Evin Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal launched the attack on PBKS from the very first over. Evin Lewis scored a quick 36, Yashasvi scored mindful 49, and Mahipal Lomror who was playing his 50th IPL match entertained with must-watch 43 runs.
RR were all out for 185 in designated 20 overs, and Punjab had to chase at the RRR (Required Run Rate) of 9.3 runs per over. It seemed to be a daunting task especially for the team who is among the last 3 teams in the points table.
WHAT. A. WIN! ? ?
Simply stunning how @rajasthanroyals have pulled off a two-run victory from the jaws of defeat. ? ?
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Evin Lewis came out to open the innings, they both played aggressively and scored 50 runs in the first five overs. However, they lost the first wicket in the form of Lewis to Arshdeep, he scored a quick 36 off 21 deliveries. RR was 57-1 after power play (6 overs).
RR lost captain Sanju to Ishan Porel at his personal score of 4, RR was 76-2 after 8 overs. Thereafter, Jaiswal and Liam Livingstone played some good T20 cricket, RR was positioned well at 101-2 after 11 overs.
However, in the very next over they lost Livingstone to Arshdeep at 25, RR was 116-3 after 12 overs.
From here, Jaiswal along with Mahipal Lomror added 20 more runs to the total, but Jaiswal got dismissed in the 15th over by Harpreet Brar and missed his half-century by just 1 run. He scored 49 off 36 deliveries. RR was 140-4 after 15 overs.
With 5 overs remaining, RR tried to increase the scoring rate but kept on losing wickets. Lomror made a significant contribution of 43 off 17 deliveries and got out to Arshdeep. In the last 5 overs, RR scored 45 runs but lost 6 wickets also, they settled with a score of 185 runs and were all-out in 20 overs.
From the Punjab side, Arshdeep Singh took 5 important wickets and finished 4 overs, 5 wickets for 32 runs.
PBKS started well with the chase where openers K L Rahul and Mayank Aggarwal looked in control. They both scored at a steady rate, PBKS was 49-0 after power play (6 overs).
Both Agarwal and Rahul completed 100 runs partnership and It was looking that they both would take PBKS to the winning target of 186 without losing a wicket.
Another day at office. Another CENTURY stand for this duo ??
But Chetan Sakariya scalps Rahul in the 12th over at a score of 49 off 33 deliveries. Rahul was not in prime touch and luckily was dropped thrice by RR. Punjab (PBKS) was120-1 after 12 overs.
With 9 wickets in hand, Punjab had to get 66 runs in 8 overs at around 8 runs per over. This seems to be an easily achievable target considering batsmen like Agarwal, Markram, and Pooran were still not out.
However, this was not destined to happen easily, in the 13th over Agarwal was dismissed by Tewatia at 67. PBKS was 126-2 after 13 overs.
Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran played good cricket and after 19 overs PBKS was 182-2. In the last over they needed 3 runs.
PBKS fought well and their chances were looking bright until the last over bowled by Kartik Tyagi where they lost the match by just 2 runs. RR snatched victory from the jaw of defeat. PBKS lost the match and the final score was 183-4.
Kartik Tyagi was named man of the match for bowling Sencilating last over where he did not allow PBKS to score 4 runs, he took 2 wickets and gave just 1 run.
