Shikhar Dhawan, the captain of Punjab Kings, claimed that he was cool and collected during the match’s crucial minutes, when Rajasthan Royals came dangerously close to winning.
With 198 runs needed to win, Rajasthan nearly pulled off a stunning triumph thanks to some late fireworks from Imapct player Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer. Sam Curran, who Dhawan put his faith in, held off 16 runs in his final over to give Punjab a suspenseful victory.
Punjab has had a fantastic start to this edition, winning two straight games, and Dhawan predicted that his side will try to maintain the momentum.
While Prabhsimran Singh, Dhawan’s opening companion, scored his first IPL fifty, Dhawan recorded his 48th IPL half-century.
However, the quick Australian Nathan Ellis struck out both of the set batsmen to give Punjab the advantage. Shimron Hetmyer and the Royals’ Impact Player Dhruv Jorel (who took the position of Yuzvendra Chahal) both hit sixes off Ellis in his final over, but not before he had already removed Devdutt Padikkal and Ryan Parag.
Hetmyer and Jurel did battle until the very last over, but the Royals were defeated as they ended at 192/7.
Prior to that, Dhawan, who was the linchpin in the batting order, used his full arsenal of strikes to advance the Punjab Kings’ total towards 200. Three maximums and nine boundaries were part of the captain’s inning.
However, given the fast start Dhawan’s opening partner Prabhsimran Singh gave Punjab (60 off 34 deliveries), it appeared for a brief moment that Punjab’s total would easily exceed 200.
