Rajasthan Royals inflict first loss of season on Punjab Kings with a six-wicket thrashing

Donovan Ferreira and Impact Player Shubham Dubey turned the tide in Rajasthan Royals’ favour with a blistering counter-attack that helped them score a six-wicket win over Punjab Kings at the New International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh Stadium on Tuesday night.

Incidentally, this is Punjab Kings first loss in the tournament. It came in their eighth match of the season. Punjab remain at the top of the table with 13 points, while Royals strengthen their third position with 12 points to their credit.

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Chasing 223 for victory, Royals were down at 151 for four in the 14th over. They needed 72 in the last six overs and the match was beginning to get tight with the Punjab bowlers right on top after the spinners had done a tremendous work in pulling the Kings back into the game.

However, Ferreira and Dubey had other ideas. The duo tore apart the Punjab pace attack as they added 77 in 32 balls to steer Royals to a comfortable win with four balls to spare.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is now the fastest batter to 400 runs in a single IPL season. He has gotten there in 167 balls, and he beats Andre Russell’s record from 2019 by 21 balls

Ferreira was unbeaten on a 26-ball 52 with six fours and three sixes and a strike rate of 200. Dubey, on the other hand, struck three four and two sixes in his 12-ball 31 at a strike rate of 258.

Sooryavanshi gives Royals’ a flying start

Earlier, Royals were off the blocks in a jiffy as the fearless matador Sooryavanshi went after the Kings bowlers.  Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 51 off 20 balls as the former framed the bowling. He struck three fours and five sixes in his 16-ball 43 to set the tone for the Royals’ victory.

Sooryavanshi is now the fastest batter to 400 runs in a single IPL season. He has gotten there in 167 balls, and he beats Andre Russell’s record from 2019 by 21 balls. 21 balls!

Royals plundered 84 for one in the Powerplay and that stood them well at the death. Jaiswal kept up the good work as he made a 27-ball 51 with seven fours and a six as the Royals were cruising along.

Yuzvendra Chahal put the brakes on Royals with a three-wicket haul

But spinners Harpreet Brar and Yuzvendra Chahal put the brakes on the scoring and Royals lost their way a wee bit. Brar conceded just 25 in his four overs and Chahal gave away 36 but took three wickets to put Royals in a spot of bother.

But Ferreira and Dubey took the game away as they launched an all-out assault on the Punjab pacers. Arshdeep Singh had a torrid day as he gave away 68 in his four overs.

Stoinis’ blistering 62 saves Punjab

Punjab openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya, surprisingly, were not able to give their side their patent aggressive start. Punjab were able to get only 65 in the Powerplay, a very modest score by their standards.

Arya began well but perished after making 29 and Cooper Connolly too hit a 14-ball 30 but did not last long. Prabhsimran made a slow 44-ball 59 and Shreyas Iyer struggled in his 27-ball 30 as the Royals put their Punjab batters under pressure.

Marcus Stoinis struck an unbeaten 62 off just 22 balls to help Punjab Kings reach 222 for four. Pics: BCCI

But for Marcus Stoinis’ blistering 22-ball unbeaten 62, Punjab would have been in deep trouble. The Australian hit four boundaries and six sixes as Punjab got 62 in the last four overs. Punjab made 222 for four but it proved insufficient at the end.

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“224 was a brilliant score, kudos to the batters. It was an exceptional performance on this pitch, which was tacky and slow. We fell short in our execution (with the ball). They had a tremendous partnership in the middle, Ferreira and Dubey scoring those crucial runs in the end. This is the format where a lot of players have changed their game and they go from ball one. At the end of the day, I feel it is about execution. Tonight, just was not our day. It is important that we stick to the things we have been doing and have been following throughout,” Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer said.

Brief scores: Punjab 222 for four in 20 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 59, Priyansh Arya 29, Cooper Connolly 30, Shreyas Iyer 30, Marcus Stoinis 62 not out; Yash Raj Punja 2/41) lost to Rajasthan Royals 228 for four in 19.2 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 51, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 43, Riyan Parag 29, Donovan Ferreira 52 not out, Shubham Duby 31 not out; Yuzvendra Chahal 3/36).