The Rajasthan Royals (RR) clinched a nail-biting victory against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a closely contested match on April 13, 2024, at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium. This intense battle, part of the Indian Premier League’s 2024 season, saw the Royals overcoming a modest target in a dramatic fashion, marking their fifth win of the season.

Match Summary

Facing a target of just 148 runs, the Rajasthan Royals managed a tense finish, securing victory by 3 wickets in the penultimate over of the match. Shimron Hetmyer emerged as the hero for RR, delivering a rapid 27 runs off 10 balls to steer his team to success.

See Also: Watch: Sanju Samson’s spectacular no look runout dismisses Liam Livingstone

Rajasthan Royals Performance

The Royals’ chase began solidly with openers Tanush Kotian and Yashasvi Jaiswal putting up a 56-run stand over 50 deliveries, setting a strong foundation for the innings. However, the dismissal of Kotian for 24 by Liam Livingstone sparked a sudden collapse. Subsequent batters, including the captain Sanju Samson, struggled to build on the early momentum, falling to precise bowling attacks from the Punjab Kings. Subsequently, captain Samson joined Jaiswal in the middle and the duo forged RR’s second partnership, contributing 26 runs off 20 balls before Kagiso Rabada claimed Jaiswal’s wicket in the 12th over. Harshal Patel, stationed at third man, took the catch to conclude Jaiswal’s innings at 39 runs off 28 balls.

RR encountered another setback when skipper Samson fell victim to a Sam Curran delivery in the 14th over, dismissed via LBW after adding 18 runs off 14 balls to RR’s total. With 49 runs required from the final 30 deliveries, the responsibility rested on the shoulders of wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag. Parag departed the field having contributed 23 runs from 18 deliveries.

Shimron Hetmyer Heroics

As the pressure mounted with 35 runs required off just 20 balls, Shimron Hetmyer entered the fray, narrowly escaping a dismissal following a caught-behind review. However, in the 18th over, his partnership with Jurel was broken as Shashank Singh held onto a catch off a delivery from Harshal Patel, ending Jurel’s innings at just 6 runs (off 11 balls)

Hetmyer slammed a boundary on the penultimate ball of the 18th over and followed it up with a maximum. Powell kicked off the next over with two consecutive boundaries. However, his aggressive stint was short-lived as Sam Curran dismissed him on the very next delivery after Powell had accumulated 11 runs from just 5 balls.

Two balls later, Curran claimed his second wicket by dismissing Keshav Maharaj. However, RR had the last laugh as Hetmyer slammed a maximum to seal a 3-wicket win for the visitors. The West Indies batter remained unbeaten at 27.

Ashutosh Sharma Heroics For PBKS

For Punjab, Ashutosh Sharma’s late-innings fireworks were vital, adding a respectable total to the scoreboard and setting a challenging target under tough conditions. Earlier, Ashutosh Sharma gave yet another exhibition of his incredible ball-striking ability in the death overs by making a 16-ball 31 to propel Punjab Kings to a respectable 147/8. For RR, Keshav Maharaj took 2-23 in an impressive middle-overs spell while Avesh Khan also had two scalps to his name. Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult and Kuldeep Sen took a wicket each in a disciplined bowling performance for RR.

Points Table IPL 2024 after match 27

No	Team	M	W	L	T	N/R	PTS	Net RR	Form
1	Rajasthan Royals	6	5	1	0	0	10	0.767	WLWWW
2	Kolkata Knight Riders	4	3	1	0	0	6	1.528	LWWW-
3	Chennai Super Kings	5	3	2	0	0	6	0.666	WLLWW
4	Lucknow Super Giants	5	3	2	0	0	6	0.436	LWWWL
5	Sunrisers Hyderabad	5	3	2	0	0	6	0.344	WWLWL
6	Gujarat Titans	6	3	3	0	0	6	-0.637	WLLWL
7	Mumbai Indians	5	2	3	0	0	4	-0.073	WWLLL
8	Punjab Kings	6	2	4	0	0	4	-0.218	LLWLL
9	Delhi Capitals	6	2	4	0	0	4	-0.975	WLLWL
10	Royal Challengers Bengaluru	6	1	5	0	0	2	-1.124	LLLLW