Kings sneak past Royals to make it two wins in two

The Punjab Kings edged out the Rajasthan Royals in a last-over thriller to win their second consecutive game of IPL 2023 at the Barspara Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday night. Half-centuries from openers Prabhsimran Singh and Shikhar Dhawan powered the Kings to a first-innings score of 197 for four before the visitors managed to hold on in the chase despite some late heroics from Shimron Hetmyer and impact substitute Dhruv Jurel, with Sam Curran successfully defending 16 off the final over.

Prabhsimran Singh showed glimpses of his talent in Punjab’s opening match against Kolkata in Mohali and carried that form forward against Rajasthan as he dominated the powerplay. The keeper drove Trent Boult through the covers and laced KM Asif for three fours and two sixes in his opening two overs. Prabhsimran also carted two boundaries of the first two deliveries he faced against R Ashwin to take Punjab to 63 for no loss in the powerplay.

The youngster got to his 28-ball half-century in the eighth over and flat-batted Trent Boult for six down the ground before finally departing for 60 to a magnificent catch from Jos Buttler. Prabhsimran left the Kings in a perfect position at 92 for one at the halfway mark and Shikhar Dhawan took over the scoring reins in the back half of the innings. After managing just 30 of his first 30 deliveries, the left-hander struck a flurry of boundaries to get to a 36-ball half-century – his 50th in the IPL – and finished on an unbeaten 86 of 56 deliveries.

Yuzvendra Chahal bore the brunt of the onslaught from Punjab, conceding 50 runs in his four overs, while KM Asif conceded 16 runs in the penultimate over as the Kings managed to post 197 on the board.

Rajasthan sent out Ravichandran Ashwin to open the innings while Jos Buttler needed to be stitched up after suffering a minor injury on the field, but the experiment failed as the all-rounder departed for a four-ball duck. The Royals still managed to score 57 in the powerplay, but those runs came at a cost as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler departed for low scores.

Nathan Ellis dismissed the Englishman for 19 and also picked up the key wickets of Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal, and Riyan Parag through the middle to leave RR reeling at 124 for six in 15 overs. Rajasthan, though, mounted a commendable comeback and even threatened to snatch the game away from Punjab at the death.

Shimron Hetmyer and impact player Dhruv Jurel struck some lusty blows to take the equation to 16 off the final over, but Sam Curran held his nerve in the final six balls to give Punjab a nervy five-run victory in Guwahati.