PBKS have been unable to find a consistent team core for over 16 years in this tournament. In IPL 2024 as well, they did not have enough resources to really challenge other teams and get into Playoffs. Their captain Shikhar Dhawan got injured and left. Sam Curran could not really balance the team and guide them in right way. Still, PBKS managed to spoil RR morale before Playoffs with a thrashing win.
RR, Rajasthan Royals, elected to bat first at their second home ground at Guwahati. They wanted to impose themselves on PBKS bowlers but again pitch did not look conducive to their batters. Except for Riyan Parag, none of the batters could really kick on and score a fifty. Even Parag fell short but took RR to a decent score. He scored 48 runs from 34 and RR managed 144/9 in 20 overs.
Interestingly, Ravichandran Ashwin scored second highest 28 runs of 19 balls with a big over against Chahar. After such a disappointing batting performance, RR bowlers needed to give their best to defend this low score. Avesh Khan sent back Rilee Rossouw(22) and Shashank Singh(0) in the same over to dent PBKS confidence. Jonny Bairstow tried to find some flow but couldn’t.
Captain Sam Curran took the onus on him and scored match winning 63 runs from 41 balls to take PBKS to winning shores. Jitesh Sharma(22) and Ashutosh Sharma(17) gave him a good hand to fulfil this mission. PBKS scored 145/5 in 18.5 overs and won the match by 5 wickets. This win gave PBKS 9th position above MI on table but dented RR’s net run rate and confidence.
RR needs to win their final match to cement second place finish but if SRH wins both their next games, NRR will come into play big time. Well, if SRH wins their match against GT on 16th May, then due to their NRR, they can climb to second place. If CSK wins against RCB with good margin and SRH loses any of their next two, even CSK can wish for second place finish before Playoffs.
