Shimron Hetmyer (27 n.o., 10b, 1×4, 3×6) held his nerve within the last over of the competition to assist Rajasthan Royals (RR) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by three wickets within the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Worldwide Cricket Stadium right here on Saturday.
With ten wanted off the final over, Arshdeep Singh nailed a few large yorkers and produced dot balls. Hetmyer hit a straight six, picked up a double, and hit one other six over the high quality leg boundary off the following three deliveries to get RR previous the end line.
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The match stunned even earlier than it started when Sam Curran, not Shikhar Dhawan, walked out for the toss for the Kings. Dhawan, out with a niggle, had been changed by Atharva Taide, knowledgeable Curran.
Then, it was Royals captain Sanju Samson’s flip to shock. He revealed that Jos Buttler and Ravichandran Ashwin, each out with minor accidents, had been changed by Rovman Powell and Tanush Kotian, respectively. All-rounder Kotian was the Participant-of-the-tournament in Mumbai’s current title-winning Ranji Trophy marketing campaign.
The Kings produced a lacklustre batting show to get to 147 for eight. Solely 38 have been scored within the Powerplay with 14 dot balls. PBKS stored dropping wickets and struggled its strategy to 53 for 4 in 10 overs. Cameos from Jitesh Sharma (29, 24b, 1×4, 2×6), Liam Livingstone (21, 14b, 2×4, 1×6), and Ashutosh Sharma (31, 16b, 1×4, 3×6) within the second half helped PBKS put up a preventing rating.
There was a shock once more when Royals started their chase. Kotian, who typically batted within the decrease center order for Mumbai within the Ranji Trophy, opened the batting for Royals with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The openers, although not at their greatest, acquired their group to 50 within the eighth over. Even after Kotian fell, Jaiswal and Samson gave the impression to be in charge of the chase. However Kagiso Rabada dismissed them in consecutive overs to drag his facet again into the competition.
With 20 runs wanted off 12 balls, Rovman Powell hit back-to-back fours off Curran to convey the equation right down to 12 off 10 balls. Hope lingered on for PBKS when Curran acquired Powell caught behind off a brief ball earlier than Hetmyer’s heroics sealed the win for the Royals.