The double headers on Saturday saw the rejuvenated Royals who pulled off a miraculous win against PBKS facing the victorious Delhi Capitals who are just a win short of securing a playoff seat and Sunrisers Hyderabad with a lone win in this season taking on Punjab Kings who spilled 2 points off the hands against the Royals.
Match 36 : DC vs RR
Winning the toss, RR decided to bowl first and reaped immediate rewards by dismissing the openers Prithvi Shaw (10) and Dhawan (8) after a brief stay. with scoreboard at 21/2, Shreyas Iyer anchored the innings with skipper Pant. The duo stitched 62 runs for 3rd wicket before Pant under edged Mustafizur to stumps for 24(24).
Iyer too fell after being stumped off Tewatia’s bowling for a well made 43(32). Hetmyer handed a few heavy blows before being dismissed for a quick 28(16) to Mustafizur. Axar too fell for 12(7) towards the end trying for quick runs. Lalit Yadav and Ashwin stole some quick singles and doubles at the end overs to take their side to a modest 154/6.
Mustafizur was the pick of the bowlers with figure 4-0-22-2 with no boundaries conceded off his bowling.
Having restricted strong DC batting line-up to 154, RR’s batting was shaken by DC bowlers who dismissed the openers Livingstone who replaced the injured Lewis and young Jaiswal for 1(3) and 5(4) in back to back overs respectively. The onus was then on the Royals skipper Sanju Samson but a partnership was the need of the hour then. Miller costed his wicket for a greedy slog at Ashwin for 7(10).
The incomer, Mahipal Lomror stitched a calm partnership with the skipper but fell to Rabada on 19(24). The determined skipper fought till the end holding to one end while wickets of Parag 2(7) and Tewatia 9(15) fell at the other. RR finished their given up chase at 121/6 with Sanju Samson unbeaten on 70(53). Nortje had the best figures for DC with 4-0-18-1.
This victory of DC assured them a playoffs seat but left RR clueless.
Watch : DC vs RR highlights
Match 37 : SRH vs PBKS
SRH who are keen to start contending in the race to playoffs took on dejected yet determined PBKS. SRH won the toss and put PBKS to bat first. Rahul-Mayank pair started off positively when Jason Holder handed a twin blow in single over dismissing Rahul for 21(21) and Mayank for 5(6).
The t20 veteran Chris Gayle had an unusual calm start pairing with Markram to set the ship steady on sail but fell to Rashid for 14(17). Nicholas Pooran 8(4) didn’t last long and well set Markram too was dismissed for 27 by Samad. Deepak Hooda 13(10), Harpreet Brar 18*(18) and Nathan Ellis 12(12) ensured PBKS reached a modest 125/7 at the end of the 20 overs.
Chasing what looked to be a gettable score, SRH lost their opener David Warner 2(3) cheaply. The big hope of SRH Kane Williamson fell for Shami’s beauty for 1(6). The opener Saha stitched brief partnerships with Manish Pandey 13(23) and Kedar Jadhav 12(12) who both were dismissed by Bishnoi who further stunned SRH irrecoverably by dismissing Abdul Samad.
All eyes were on Jason Holder but the well set Saha was run out for 31(37) in a crucial juncture of the game. Rashid 3(4) was quick to follow but Holder was holding his nerve till the very end but failed to take the team over the line when 17 runs were required off Ellis’s disciplined last over.
SRH lost by 5 runs leaving them high and dry in 8th position while PBKS stay alive on the tournament climbing up to 5th position on the ladder.
Slow pitches made low scoring affairs but made the Saturday a juicy day!
Watch : SRH vs PBKS highlights
Key Takeaways
- When life hands you a miracle like what RR had against PBKS, it should motivate and cheer up to give our best in the future and win more but not to rely and survive with miracles time and again.
- When a team is faltering, Sanju Samson proved what a leader must set the example to the rest of the team.
- When life hands us a humiliation like PBKS had against RR, we must always bounce back hard like they did against SRH.
~Dhinesh Babu (Guest Author)
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