3 best knocks in PBKS-RR matches ft. Sanju Samson

Punjab Kings (PBKS) are set to face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 27th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh, on Saturday, April 13.

The hosts currently sit eighth on the points table, having won only two matches out of five. Punjab was chasing a target of 183 runs when they lost their most recent game to SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by two runs.

PBKS didn’t start well, but it was once again Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma who came to their rescue. However, they couldn’t get their team over the line as they did against the Gujarat Titans (GT). The Kings will be looking to bounce back and get their third win of the tournament tonight.

Meanwhile, GT handed the Rajasthan Royals their first defeat of the season in the last match. Rashid Khan won the match for Gujarat on the last ball when they needed two runs while chasing 197. This was Rajasthan’s first loss in five games, and one of the questions that popped up was why Trent Boult bowled only two overs. Sanju Samson will now be looking to get his tactics right against PBKS and get his team's fifth win of the season.

Over the years, both of these teams have played a good brand of cricket. If we look at the head-to-head record, the teams have faced off 26 times, with the Royals coming on top 15 times. Meanwhile, Punjab has 11 wins to its name. In these 26 matches, fans have seen some memorable performances, and in this article, we will look at the top three knocks in PBKS-RR matches in IPL history.

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Top 3 knocks in PBKS-RR matches

#3 Mayank Agarwal's first IPL century at Sharjah Cricket Stadium (106 off 50 balls)

The Rajasthan Royals won the toss and chose to bowl first when they faced the Punjab Kings in match nine of the IPL 2020 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Batting first, Punjab made 223 runs in their 20 overs, thanks to a brilliant century by Mayank Agarwal. The Indian batter scored 106 runs off 50 balls; his innings were studded with ten fours and seven sixes.

However, it was not enough to get Punjab a win as the Royals chased down the target with three balls remaining. Steven Smith, Sanju Samson, and Rahul Tewatia (who hit five sixes in a Sheldon Cottrell over) scored half-centuries and guided RR to an amazing victory.

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#2 Shaun Marsh show in Mohali (115 off 69 balls)

Rajasthan Royals were pitted against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in the 56th match of the IPL 2008. Batting first, Australian batter Shaun Marsh went berserk and scored a century (115 runs in 69 balls). He hit 11 fours and seven sixes, and quick-fire innings by Yuvraj Singh (49 off 16 balls) guided Punjab to a mammoth total of 221 runs.

In response, Rajasthan never looked in the game and fell short by 41 runs. Piyush Chawla led the way for the Kings as he took three wickets, while Irfan Pathan conceded only 10 runs in his spell of four overs, guiding Punjab to an easy victory.

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#1 Sanju Samson went berserk against the Kings in the IPL 2021 (119 off 63 balls)

Wankhede Stadium hosted the fourth match of the IPL 2021 between Punjab and Rajasthan. The Royals won the toss and elected to field first. However, things didn’t go in their favor as Punjab scored 221 runs, thanks to fifties by KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda.

In response, Sanju Samson battled alone for RR and scored a century in a tough chase. However, Sanju couldn’t get his team over the line, as he was caught out by Arshdeep Singh when RR needed five runs off the final delivery.

However, Samson won everyone’s hearts the way he played, scoring 119 runs out of 63 balls and almost won the match single-handedly for his team. The Indian batter struck 12 fours and seven sixes in his innings, which remains one of the best in PBKS-RR matches.