IPL 2021: Match 32, PBKS vs RR – Who Said What

Not for the first time did the Kings scripted an unreal, out-of-nowhere loss when their victory seemed a foregone conclusion.

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Rajasthan Royals
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Rajasthan Royals. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)

A record fifer from Arshdeep Singh, some explosive batting by openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal and the finishing touches from Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran guided Punjab Kings to a comprehensive victory over Rajasthan Royals in Dubai. (Probably in a parallel universe, though.)

One of IPL’s most underrated rivalry produced another contest for the ages, however, even this much going Punjab’s way could not ensure them a victory. And not for the first time did the Kings scripted an unreal, out-of-nowhere loss when their victory seemed a foregone conclusion.

After winning the toss and opting to field, the Punjab bowlers were beaten black and blue by Royals opener Evin Lewis, on RR debut, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who provided their team with a brisk half-century partnership start. Lewis’ free-flowing 21-ball 36 knock was cut short by Arshdeep, while Jaiswal fell to Harpreet Brar only a run short of his half-century, although Liam Livingstone kept the momentum up, scoring 25 off 17.

While a 200-plus total seemed on cards for the larger part of Royals’ innings, not least because of Mahipal Lomror’s 17-ball 43 blitz, Arshdeep pegged them back in tandem with Mohammed Shami, who was himself mighty impressive, returning with figures of 3/21. While it was easy for the eyes to ignore Harpreet Brar in between Arshdeep and Shami, he quietly delivered an economic three-over spell for 1/17.

In response, chasing 186, Punjab hardly put a foot wrong, with Rahul (49 off 33) and Agarwal (67  off 43) adding a whopping 120 runs off 72 for the first wicket to put their team in pole position. While Royals struck twice in quick succession to remove both openers after a sloppy fielding performance that saw them give Rahul no less than three lives, Markram and Pooran took things in their hands, adding 57 off 39 to take Punjab within a touching distance of what seemed a certain victory.

With 10 needed off 15, Punjab got back to doing what they do best. The situation further came down to 4 needed off the last over, which Kartik Tyagi miraculously defended to leave KL Rahul and his men in a situation only they know how to create repeatedly; they lost by 2 runs.

Losing skipper KL Rahul:

It’s a tough one to swallow. We have been a team that has experienced games like these before. We need to see how we can handle pressure better. Trying to finish in the 18th over sometimes you go too hard and lose your way and let the opponents in. We haven’t learnt from previous mistakes. We will now try to come back stronger and win the next five games. We pulled things back quite nicely with the ball, kept taking wickets, which is very crucial in this format. Getting runs for me, Mayank and even Aiden in his first IPL game was important.

Winning skipper Sanju Samson:

It’s funny that we kept believing (that we could win). I kept the overs of Mustafizur and Tyagi for the end, believing. Cricket is a funny game right. We just kept fighting and believing. I always believe in my bowlers, want to keep fighting and that’s why I kept those two overs till the end. To be very honest, to get that score on this wicket, we felt good because we had the bowling. If we took the catches, we could have won the game earlier. People have really worked hard on their fitness.

Player of the Match Kartik Tyagi :

 

I was injured during the India leg of the IPL and by the time I got fit, the tournament was suspended. Felt sad. So this feels really good. I have been talking to people over the years and they keep telling me that things keep changing in this format, so I need to keep believing. I’ve always heard from everyone and also watched games in this format where strange things have happened. Today, I was fortunate to play a big role in something special. I was bowling a bit too short earlier, later worked on it consciously after getting a lot of feedback.

 

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