It was yet another high-scoring edge of the seat thriller match between these two teams who have given us some great battle over the years, especially in the last IPL where Tewatia pulled off a win from the mouth of Punjab.
On Monday, Wankhede witnessed something extraordinary from both captains. It was KL Rahul who started off the preceding. Punjab batted first and debutant Chetan Sakariya removed Mayank Agarwal early. Gayle then put on a brilliant show where he made 28-ball 40 before getting out to Riyan Parag’s brilliance.
After his dismissal, the team sent Hooda in, to everyone’s surprise. However, the all-rounder lived up to the coach’s expectations, went on to score 64 from just 28 deliveries. The knock had six sixes. On the other hand, KL Rahul was also taking on bowlers, and it was unfortunate that he had to end up with 91. He deserved a ton, with no doubts.
It was Sakariya once again who dismissed KL Rahul in the final over of the match. Sakariya ended with 3 for 31 while Morris had two wickets.
Chasing 222, Royals had a poor start with Ben Stokes and the team lost Manan Vohra soon as well. However, the newly appointed captain Sanju Samson took up the job and stood there at one end while other batters played around him. Riyan Parag, Jos Buttler and Shivam Dube all had cameos that kept the run-rate under control. Samson soon got to his ton with ease.
In the final over, the team needed 13 off 5 and 5 from 2. Sanju Samson turned down a single in the penultimate delivery and the team needed 5 from the last delivery. Samson did well to hit it hard but he couldn’t clear the fence and found the fielder.
In the end, Punjab ended with a four-run victory, to move to the 3rd spot in the points table. Delhi Capitals are at the first place followed by Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
