The action returned in the Indian Premier League 2023 with Rajasthan Royals hosting Punjab Kings in their second home in Guwahati on Wednesday. In the previous game, Gujarat Titans, led by Hardik Pandya, sealed their second consecutive win of the season against Delhi Capitals. In contrast, it was the second successive defeat for the Capitals. Gujarat reached the top of the league standings with four points from two games.
Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision that Punjab Kings were pretty much content with. The Kings got off to a fast start as the opening pair of Prabhsimran Singh and skipper Shikhar Dhawan stitched a 90-run partnership within 10 overs.
Singh got out after a well-made 60 off 34 balls. Dhawan went on to score an unbeaten 86 off 56. A quick contribution of 27 off 16 by wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma further helped their innings as the Kings closed out at 197/4 within their quota of 20 overs.
Punjab completed their second consecutive win in the IPL 2023
For Rajasthan, Jason Holder remained the pick of the bowlers. The Royals pacer returned with figures of 2/29 within his four overs whilst conceding just 29 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal returned with one wicket a piece from the game. However, Chahal was hit for a hefty 50 runs in his four overs.
In reply, Royals had a shaky start to their innings, losing their first three batters within 57 runs. Skipper Sanju Samson (42 off 25), Devdutt Padikkal (21 off 26), and Riyan Parag (20 off 12) tried to steady the Royals’ innings. Shimron Hetmyer (36 off 18) and impact player Dhruv Jurel (32 off 15) led the final charge for Rajasthan but fell short by 6 runs. For Punjab, Nathan Ellis remained the pick of the bowlers returning with figures of 4/30 in his four overs.
Next in the Indian T20 League, Kolkata Knight Riders, who lost their opening game to Punjab in a rain-drenched encounter by just 7 runs via the DLS method, will be hosting Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens. The Royal Challengers won their opening encounter against the Mumbai Indians by 8 wickets in a stunning batting performance.
Here’s how fans reacted to Punjab’s win:
Dhruv Jurel in place of Padikkal for the next match
— Dhaval Patel (@CricCrazy0) April 5, 2023
— Nikhil. (@fundoozx) April 5, 2023
Best game of this season so far..a chase which looked dead got almost alive at the end engaging everyone. proper thriller!!
— movieman (@movieman777) April 5, 2023
Padikal to RR fans pic.twitter.com/gX4HpmzEI4
— Bitan Dutta (@BitanDutta11) April 5, 2023
RR admin pic.twitter.com/0UARAjKUYL
— Sanket Shah (@SanketS64861430) April 5, 2023
— Rishabh Pandey (@RAVINDU_PANDEY) April 5, 2023
2 min silence for harcb fan pic.twitter.com/KHfxI4uLm5
— S ? C H I | ?? (@fadesachi06) April 5, 2023
Chasing is not everyone's cup of team,unless you are Gujrat Titans??
— Shubham Gamara?????? (@GamaraShubham) April 5, 2023
