IPL 2025: Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings, Match 59 - Who Said What?

The 59th match of the IPL 2025 was held between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. PBKS posted 219 runs in the first innings and RR fell short by 10 runs to face another loss in this year’s campaign. PBKS gained two more points to move to second in the points table.

Talking Points

PBKS' top-order collapses

PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first. But, the top-order failed to capitalize as RR’s bowlers struck at regular intervals. Tushar Deshpande delivered early blows by removing both openers, Priyansh Arya (9 off 7) and Prabhsimran Singh (21 off 10). The South African pacer Kwena Maphaka also picked one wicket of Mitchell Owen for a duck.

Nehal Wadhera leads the fightback

The left-hander Nehal Wadhera smashed a recovery knock with a counter-attacking 70 runs off just 37 deliveries which included five fours and five sixes. He was well-supported by Shashank Singh, who scored 59* off 30 balls. Towards the end of the innings, Azmatullah Omarzai added quick runs 21* off 9 balls which helped PBKS post a competitive total.

RR openers blaze through powerplay

RR openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi launched a brutal assault on PBKS pacers in the powerplay during the chase of 220. The duo added 76 runs for the opening wicket. Jaiswal scored 50 off 25 balls, and the youngster impressed with a blistering 40 off just 15 balls at a strike rate of 266.67.

Brar turns the game in favour of PBKS

The left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar turned the game around for PBKS. He dismissed both openers and clean bowled RR vice-captain Riyan Parag. Brar ended his spell with three wickets for 22 in his four overs, bringing PBKS back into the match well and truly.

Jurel’s valiant effort falls short

The wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel fought hard till the end with a composed 53 off 31 balls, keeping RR in the hunt. But, his effort went in vain as RR fell short by 10 runs in the end. Marco Jansen picked two wickets in the last over to seal the victory for PBKS.

Who Said What?

Sanju Samson, RR (Losing Captain)

We started off really well, couldn't ask for anything more from the openers having scored 90 runs in the powerplay. We couldn't carry on the momentum we got in the powerplay. It (target) was quite achievable today. The wicket played completely different today. That was a chaseable score with the kind of power-hitters we had. It's a bit hard to nail it down to one thing, we have to get the job done. A couple of experienced guys should take responsibility and do their job. Definitely a lot of improvements to be done for the upcoming season. We can't try much, the first priority is to win the game (vs CSK).

Shreyas Iyer, PBKS (Winning Captain)

Finger injury [right index finger]. Don't know what has happened. Yesterday while practice, I got hit. Will have to check. Was passing on message to players. Body language tends to drop when opposition plays well. Brar is consistent in the nets. Today he stepped in and delivered. His mindset has been tremendous throughout. Absolutely brilliant approach and attitude. Guys were in high spirits. We showed the mindset that we wanted to win irrespective of the situation. [Jaipur being home ground] We saw spinners were difficult to take charge over. Majority of runs were scored off fast bowlers. We can change the game from any situation.

Harpreet Brar, Player of the Match

Feels good. I want to dedicate this award to my wife. This is my first Player of the Match award after marriage. Ponting sir has motivated me, worked on a lot of things. My plans were clear - I knew they would look to attack me. The way the wicket was behaving, the way they were batting, I had only one thing in mind - not to give easy boundary balls. I have been working with Sunil Joshi for a few years. Taught me about using the crease, reading batters. [On being the second spinner behind Chahal] When he came into the team, I felt it would be easy to bowl in partnership with him. Cricket is a funny game, I knew I would grab opportunity whenever I would get the chance.