PBKS vs RR 52nd Match, IPL 2022

Arya- Earlier in the day, it was Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal who won the toss and opted to bat given it was a day game. Jonny Bairstow who struggled for runs coming into the game started off with a couple of beautiful boundaries of the bowling of Trent Boult to get things underway. Shikhar Dhawan struggled quite a bit and failed to time the ball. He conceded a maiden to Boult in his second over as the pressure started to build on Bairstow. 

He played some delightful shots and took Boult apart in his 3rd over. He looked in great touch from the outset and never looked like he was out of form for so long. However, Dhawan’s struggles at the other end finally ended when he ended up chipping Ravichandran Ashwin’s very first delivery down the mid-on region. An outstretched hand of Jos Buttler plucked it out of thin air to give Rajasthan their maiden wicket. 

Bhanuka Rajapaksa then joined Bairstow in the middle and started off in a belligerent fashion. He looked in sublime touch and struck some wonderful strokes to race away to 27 of just 18 deliveries before falling prey to Yuzvendra Chahal’s mastery. He bowled with guile and it wasn’t easy to pick him. Mayank Agarwal came in at the fall of Rajapaksa’s wicket and played some great shots to get going. However, he fell soon after as Yuzvendra Chahal induced a false shot as Mayank ended up chipping that straight to the long-on fielder. 

Chahal got the set batsman Jonny Bairstow in the same over to send some shivers to the middle order. Just when the Punjab Kings looked set to tighten the screws around Punjab, it was the duo of Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma who went hammers and tongs in the final few overs to get their side to 189. Jitesh Sharma in particular played a blinder and eventually remained unbeaten on 38 of just 18 deliveries which included 4 fours and a couple of sixes. Chahal was the pick of the bowlers for Rajasthan finishing with figures of 3/28. 

Arya- It was never going to be an easy task to chase down 190 but with the sort of form Jos Buttler was in coming into the game, any target would look small in front of his blistering strokeplay. Yashasvi Jaiswal who was making a comeback in this encounter started off in an attacking fashion and took apart Sandeep Sharma in the first over. In the 4th over, it was Buttler’s turn to join the fun as he smashed Kagiso Rabada for 20 runs before the bowler got him in the final delivery of the over. 

Jaiswal kept playing the big shots and looked in complete command of proceedings. Sanju Samson also started off brilliantly with a couple of boundaries and some of his shots just oozed class and confidence. He raced off to 23 of just 12 deliveries befire Rishi Dhawan send him back to the pavilion. He promised so much yet again but couldn’t quite carry on. 

It was Devdutt Padikkal who came out at the fall of Samson’s wicket and took his time to settle in. On the other end, Jaiswal was taking on the Punjab Kings bowlers and went onto reach a well-deserved half-century in his comeback game. He kept playing those audacious shots before perishing at the hands of Arshdeep Singh but by then he had taken his team within touching distance of the victory target. 

There was a bit of a hiccup after the fall of his wicket as Devdutt Padikkal found it difficult to get his innings going. He did strike some good strokes but he failed to find the gaps which build the pressure on Shimron Hetmyer. Arshdeep Singh bowled a fantastic penultimate over where he bagged a wicket and conceded just three runs to keep them in the game. However Hetmyer then smashed Rahul Chahar for a maximum in the final over to get his side over the line with a couple of deliveries to spare.