IPL 2023, Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings, Match 8: Best memes from the game

Punjab Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by five runs.

Published - 05 Apr 2023, 23:51 IST | Updated - 05 Apr 2023, 23:34 IST

11 Min Read

The exhilarating action continued in the Indian Premier League season 16 as Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings went head-to-head against each other in Match 8 at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss and invited Punjab to bat first.

The decision, however, backfired as PBKS got off to a flier with openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh adding 90 runs for the first wicket. Prabhsimran was seen at his destructive best as he scored 60 off just 34 balls clobbering seven fours and three sixes in his innings. Following his dismissal in the 10^th over by Jason Holder, Dhawan continued the attack on the opposition and took the innings forward.

He was involved in a 66-run stand for the second wicket with Jitesh Sharma off just 33 balls. Sharma was dismissed after scoring 27 off 16 by Yuzvendra Chahal in the 16^th over. However, Dhawan continued his innings and played a captain’s knock of 86* off 56 balls smashing nine fours and three sixes in his innings. Courtesy of his knock, Punjab posted a massive score of 197/4 in the first innings. Jason Holder was the pick of the bowlers for Rajasthan picking up 2/29 in his four overs.

In reply, RR sent an interesting opening combination of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravichandran Ashwin. The duo couldn’t get their team off to a good start as Jaiswal departed after scoring 11 off 8 while Ashwin got dismissed for a four-ball duck. In the middle overs, Nathan Ellis wreaked havoc with the ball and picked up the prized scalps of Jos Buttler and a well-set Sanju Samson (42 off 25) to leave RR reeling at 91/4 after 11 overs.

Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel kept RR in the hunt

Ellis further dismissed Riyan Parag and Devdutt Padikkal as Rajasthan were 124/6 after 15 overs. After the fall of the sixth wicket, Rajasthan's Impact player Dhruv Jurel (32* off 15) walked to the crease and brought life back into the game along with Shimron Hetmyer (36 off 18). The duo added 61 runs off 26 balls and brought their side to the brink of victory with 16 needed from the last six balls. However, Sam Curran bowled a good last over giving away just ten runs and as a result, Punjab won the match by five runs. Nathan Ellis was the pick of the bowlers from Punjab picking up 4/30 in four overs while Arshdeep Singh picked up two wickets.