IPL 2023, RR vs PBKS | Twitter reacts as Dhawan rediscovers his best form to lead PBKS to 5-run win

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Shikhar Dhawan led from the front against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday as he carried his bat to help Punjab post a massive total of 198. Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer helped take the game to the wire for the hosts but eventually, Nathan Ellis' damage with the ball early on proved to be decisive.

Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals delivered a thrilling encounter to celebrate the Indian Premier League's first-ever endeavour in the northeast, at the Baraspara Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday. Batting first, the visitors romped their way to a huge total of 197/4 and then retained control for the majority of the second innings to eventually come out on top by a narrow five-run margin. Punjab skipper Shikhar Dhawan was named the man of the match for his 56-ball 86, which was incidentally also his 50th 50-plus score in IPL history.

The opener started off his innings calmly as Prabhsimran Singh at the other end took the reign of proceedings, powering the team to a score of 63/0 in the powerplay with some audacious shotmaking. However, once he fell for 60 off just 34 deliveries, the boundaries dried up for a while for Punjab as Bhanuka Rajapaksa had to retire hurt after facing just one delivery. Sensing the need to up the ante, Dhawan showcased his destructive capabilities as he scored 56 runs off his last 26 deliveries, striking nine boundaries and clearing the ropes three times in his stay at the crease. Jitesh Sharma played a handy role as well with his 16-ball 27 but Jason Holder's excellent display at the death ensured the Kings don't go past 200, eventually ending with figures of 2/29 from his four overs.

In response, the Royals chose to open with Ravichandran Ashwin after Buttler had to get a stitch on his left-hand's little finger owing to an injury he met while completing a catch in the first innings. The move backfired as both the off-spinner and Yashasvi Jaiswal fell early but the fans could breathe a sigh of relief as Buttler ended up making it out to the crease. However, the joy did not last long as Nathan Ellis got the better of him for just 19 and when Sanju Samson tried to stage a recovery with 42 off 25 deliveries, the Australian showed up once again to send the opposition skipper back to the pavilion, returning figures of 4/30. Just when things looked to be getting out of hand for the hosts, local hero Riyan Parag rekindled hope with 20 off 12 deliveries before Impact Player Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer went off the rails in the final few overs.

Eventually, the equation came down to 16 off the last over where a silly Hetmyer run-out ended his stay for 36 off 18 balls, leaving everything in the hands of Jurel. However, the young batter failed to cope up and even though he stayed unbeaten on 32 off 15 balls, it was not enough to secure his side what would have been a famous victory.

Massive win!

Bhai is lub now!

That was bad

Sam is the new love!

Why??

Great game!

He's dealing it with mind!

Zinta is lucky charm!

Hahaha!

Sahi hi!

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