Finance
Following Shikhar Dhawan’s 85-run knock, Nathan Ellis claimed a four-fer to lead Punjab Kings to a thrilling five-run win over Rajasthan Royals in Match 8 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday at Barsapara Cricket Stadium.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) set a 198-run target thanks to Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten 85 and Prabhsimran Singh’s maiden fifty. After a slow start, the Royals threatened to steal the game but fell five runs short in the chase.
RR began the chase with an unusual batting lineup, with Ravichandran Ashwin opening with Yashasvi Jaiswal after Buttler left the field immediately after taking the catch in the final over.
Jaiswal got things going with a six over square leg. In the next over, Arshdeep Singh struck to dismiss the in-form Jaiswal for 11 and Buttler came in to bat.
In the third over, Sam Curran almost got Buttler, who flicked a pull toward Harpreet Brar charging in towards deep square leg, but the ball popped out of his grasp as he fell. Then Buttler took advantage of the drop catch with an incredible boundary over midwicket.
Arshdeep removed Ashwin in the next over, reducing the Royals to 26/2 in four overs. Samson went for a six after a dot ball to complete 1000 runs for RR as captain.
With their well-timed shots, Samson and Buttler took RR bowlers to the cleaners before Nathan Ellis caught and bowled the big fish Buttler for 19. At the end of the Power-play, the Royals trailed by 57/3.
Buttler then hit a straight drive, but an inside edge came off the pads and the ball popped up off the pad. Ellis was quick on the follow-through, running forward, diving, and making the catch.
Ellis struck again in the 11th over, catching skipper Sanju Samson for 42 runs, reducing RR to 91-4 as home favourite Riyan Parag came into bat.
With 12 runs required per over to win, it was up to the young duo of Devdutt Padikkal and Parag to get their team over the line.
In the 12th over, Parag brought the game back to life with a six off Rahul Chahar into mid-wicket. He then pumped another one over the long-on in the next over.
Ellis took his third wicket in the 15th over, dismissing Parag for 20 runs off 12 balls. Parag attempted a flat over long-off, and the ball flew into the air towards long-off, where Shahrukh Khan ran forward and easily completed the catch.
In the same over, Ellis struck out Padikkal on a length ball, claiming his fourth and making the Royals’ task more difficult.
Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel then went for hits, bringing the equation to 34 runs in 12 balls.
After a dot and a wide in the penultimate over, Jurel hit one bounce four on Arshdeep’s Yorker and followed it up with a maximum to deep extra cover, completing the fastest fifty-run partnership off just 20 balls.
On the next ball, he hit a boundary over, bringing the equation to 16 in 6. Hetmyer tried to heave over deep midwicket on the next ball, and the ball flew a mile high. The ball burst through Ellis’ hands as he charged in for a chance.
Sam Curran began the final over with a single and a double. Hetmyer was run out on the third ball of the over, and a score of 12 in three balls was required to win. Curran, on the other hand, kept his cool and allowed only seven runs in the next three pitches as PBKS won by five runs.
Brief scores: Punjab Kings 197/4 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 86 not out, Prabhsimran Singh 60; Jason Holder 2-29) beat Rajasthan Royals 192/7 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 42, Shimron Hetmyer 36; Nathan Ellis 4-30, Arshdeep Singh 2-47) by 5 runs
Source:OCN
