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That brings us to the end of another cliffhanger with Rajasthan Royals pulling off a hard earned victory with a couple of deliveries to spare. They were challenged all through the run chase and on the back of Kagiso Rabada, Punjab almost managed to clinch a come from behind victory but Shimron Hetmyer had other ideas. He closed it off very professionally in the end by smashing two sizes off the final two deliveries of the match. Good signs for Punjab with the effort they put in with the ball after a below par effort with the bat but still they are languishing at the bottom half of the points table while Rajasthan has stamped their authority at the top position with five wins in six games. A double header day tomorrow and two big games coming up. The El Classico of IPL between the five time champions will commence from 7:30 PM but in the afternoon KKR will look to get back to winning ways when they lock horns against the Lucknow Supergiants. Like always it was a pleasure bringing all the live coverage from this encounter. Do join us tomorrow for the twin IPL clashes and many more sporting actions but for now this is me (Arya Sekhar Chakraborty) bidding adieu also on behalf of my fellow commentator and good mate Pragadeesh. Goodnight! Cheers!
Shimron Hetmyer (Player of the Match): I inside edged one onto my knees but I will be alright. It's all about practice. I like batting properly and then when everyone is finished in the nets I go out and try hitting those sixes. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't buy I am happy to pull off a victory for my team. Well they creep in in the first couple of balls. After that I just try to keep it as simple as possible. Yeah I would have taken the single. I was like even if I don't get the other one and get a single. Even if we didn't win it we could have tied it so it was always on the cards. Being away from family this is the only way you can keep yourself upbeat by enjoying. I am waiting for my family to get here.
Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals captain): Yeah I think we had few funny incidents from the previous year and this year but I am happy that the guys are looking to catch it. I must tell my fast bowlers that someone with glove on is a safe option. They bowled really well, was a really funny game in the end. Yeah he has been doing it for years and years. Confidence and composure about his skills. We are very confident having Hetti and Rovman. Tanush is a very interesting youngster. He came in as a all-rounder and he has really impressed all the coaching staff in the net. We had a proper batting line up and didn't want to unsettle that. Very happy to see Jaiswal spending some time in the middle. Hopefully the big one is around the corner. Last game we made less mistakes and lost it and it was vice versa today so you can't take anything for granted in the tournament.
It's time for the post-match presentation ceremony with Harsha Bhogle.
Rovman Powell - It's important to get 2 points as we played some good cricket today. The good things is that we know each other. We know we will get boundaries because we are from West Indies. We decided to play proper cricketing shots and it was about running as fast as possible in the middle. It's a challenge but we are professional cricketers. In the previous game, the lower order didn't bat and I get to remind myself that I have to do the job for the team.. If I am not getting a game then it's important the teams wins. I will wait for my opportunity and contribute for the team's win
Sam Curran (Punjab Kings Captain) - I think the wicket was slow. We didn't start well with the bat and didn't finish well in the end. It's a good effort from the guys down the order to get us close to 150 and we fought well but unfortunately another close defeat. We bowled really well as a unit and fielded well and we are a bit disappointed. I am sure we will bounce back in the next game. We trained on these types of wickets and we adapted well. T20 Cricket is just small margins but we will come back strong
Rajasthan Royals won by 3 wickets (with two deliveries to spare)
It wasn't a massive score to chase for the Rajasthan Royals but they need to start well to make it comfortable for their star-studded middle order. A new opening pair came out with Tanish Kotian partnering with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Kotian had a tough beginning to his IPL career as he found it difficult to find the gaps and couldn't quite utilise the fielding restrictions. Yashasvi Jaiswal on the other hand started off very crisply, striking some exquisite shots to get his innings underway. Despite a good start, there was lack of intent in the powerplay, especially from Kotian and Rajasthan could only muster 43.
The pressure kept building with Liam Livingstone bowling beautifully in his first two overs and managed to break the partnership by dismissing Kotian. Jaiswal looked in good touch while the impetus was provided by Sanju Samson. He smashed a four and six of Livingstone's 3rd over to ease the nerves, but Yashasvi Jaiswal's wicket turned the game around. It was a good decision by the stand-in captain Sam Curran to hand over the ball to Kagiso Rabada when Punjab desperately needed wickets and he didn't disappoint.
The wicket of Jaiswal was followed by Samson's wicket in short while which opened the game up. However, with the inform batter Riyan Parag out in the middle, it was a game for the Royals to lose. Parag tried to steady the ship with Dhrul Jurel but couldn't quite get the timing like the previous matches. He was eventually dismissed by Arshdeep Singh in the 17th over and it looked like Punjab were staging a dramatic comeback.
However, Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell had other ideas as they smashed 18 runs in four deliveries at the end of the 18th over and at the start of the 19th over to bring the equation down to 12 required off 10. Sam Curran held his nerves and rounded the over off brilliantly and made it 10 required off the final over.
Arshdeep Singh nailed the first two yorkers but couldn't quite finish the job. Hetmyer held his nerves and smashed a six downtown before helping the full toss down leg over the fine leg fence to finish the match off. Rajasthan Royals solidified their top position and are two wins clears of Kolkata Knight Riders who are occupying the second position at this stage.
Shimron Hetmyer with a flourish in the end and the Rajasthan Royals prevail. The power of Hetmyer at the end of the innings does the job for the Rajasthan Royals. An unbeaten 27 off just 10 deliveries and have helped Rajasthan win their 5th game of the competition. The Punjab bowlers gave them a scare in the middle overs. Arshdeep started brilliantly in the final over but the finishing touch wasn't quite there and ended up conceding two slot deliveries and it was enough for Hetmyer to hit those for boundaries. Another gams Sanju Samson will reflect on, this time Rajasthan coming out on the right side of a close contest.
19.5 Arshdeep Singh to Shimron Hetmyer, SIX! HETMYER SEALS IT IN STYLE! Too much pressure on Arshdeep to deliver the yorker and he misses it. He feeds the full toss angling into the body, Hetmyer swipes it behind square for a maximum
Hetmyer inches closer to the target. A slight fumble from Sam Curran at the hotspot. Just two more runs needed off the final two deliveries. Arshdeep might go back to his yorkers here.
19.4 Arshdeep Singh to Shimron Hetmyer, back of a length angling back, Hetmyer pulls it to wide long-on. Curran moves across but he fumbles to allow the southpaw to get back on strike
It is Hetmyer power down the ground. It went flat and hard and it might have hit the boundary cushion on the full. Comes down the track and hits it down the ground. Not quite in the blockhole and gets enough on that.
19.3 Arshdeep Singh to Shimron Hetmyer, SIX! Misses the yorker by an inch and Hetmyer latched onto it. He drills it flat from the crease and the ball hits the ropes on the full. 4 needed from 3 balls
19.2 Arshdeep Singh to Shimron Hetmyer, another phenomenal yorker. This one is tailing back slightly from outside off, Hetmyer gets down to one knee to swing across but gets an inside edge onto his pads
Couple of excellent Yorkers from Arshdeep Singh. Execution absolutely spot on under pressure.
19.1 Arshdeep Singh to Shimron Hetmyer, nails the wide yorker and it's inch-perfect. Hetmyer stands deep to heave this across the line but doesn't get underneath the ball
Arshdeep Singh [3-0-31-1] is back into the attack.
Trent Boult, RHB is the new man in.
Liam Livingstone gets in the way and there is another wicket for the Punjab Kings. It was there in the slot but the bat turning in his hands and Maharaj couldn't quite get the elevation he was after. Seven wickets back in the hut and the onus is now on Hetmyer to take them over the line. A great comeback from Curran after conceding a couple of boundaries at the start of the over.
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Keshav Maharaj
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Sam Curran
Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh
