IPL 2024: Rajasthan Royals' 2nd Innings Highlights against PBKS in Match 27

Rajasthan Royals travelled to Chandigarh in order to face Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to bowl first. Their choice turned out to be a great decision as they had the Punjab Kings’ batting on the ropes during the middle overs. 

Punjab Kings had a topsy-turvy innings as they were able to post a mediocre total of 147/8 on the scoreboard. The Rajasthan bowlers were all over the opposition batters and if it wasn’t for the late lower-order cameos, their total would have been much lower. Rajasthan Royals would have fancied themselves before the second innings. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings would have been looking to get a good bowling performance together to get the vital win in this game.

Rajasthan Royals had a new opening pair for this game as they used their impact player in place of Kuldeep Sen. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tanush Kotian came out to bat to start the innings off for the away side. They had a successful opening stand of 56 and it was a good foundation for the rest of the chase.

Kotian departed after a great ball from Liam Livingstone ended his short innings of 24 runs from 31 balls. Jaiswal was joined by skipper Sanju Samson at the crease hoping to finish things off without much difficulty. However, Kagiso Rabada’s epic spell produced two wickets and both of the batters had to depart. 

Also Read: PBKS vs RR 1st innings Video highlights 

Hetmyer's heroics help RR seal the victory

The match was in a poised position as 49 runs were needed from 30 balls. In-form batter Riyan Parag tried to up the ante in the death overs but failed and he had to depart after scoring just 23 runs. Team India wicket-keeper batter Dhruv Jurel also could not muster much as he was dismissed for a dismal knock of 6 runs from 11 balls.

The onus was on West Indies duo Rovman Powell and Shimron Hetmyer to take the side home from an improbable position. Their attacking intent helped them get close to the total but the former had to depart while playing the big shot. Sam Curran bowled a brilliant penultimate over as he got the wickets of Powell and Keshav Maharaj.

In the end, the equation was 10 runs from the last over which was about to be bowled by Harshal Patel. Hetmyer smashed a six off the third ball and got a double off the fourth one to put the away side in a comfortable position. Hetmyer hit the six off the fifth delivery and got the win for the side.