Experts are creating their teams, watch this space
Expert Team 1
J Buttler
S Curran
Expert Team 2
S Samson
S Dhawan
Venue Details
Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
VENUE STATS
1st Innings
137Avg Runs
6Avg Wkts
Avg
SR
2nd Innings
122Avg Runs
5Avg Wkts
Avg
SR
Fantasy TipsExclusive
1
Jos Buttler is a consistent player and is in excellent form, without a doubt he will be the best choice for captaincy in this game.
2
Sam Curran is in tremendous form, he played brilliantly in the previous game, Curran scored 26 runs and picked up 1 wicket as well. Sam Curran will look to continue his sensational form in this game as well.
3
Trent Boult and Arshdeep Singh are the top bowlers' picks, both of them are in exceptional form and will play an important role in this game.
4
H2H Stats, last time when both the teams faced each other Rajasthan Royals won the game by 6 wickets.
5
Hot Picks: Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Shikhar Dhawan, Sikandar Raza
Risky Picks:Jason Holder, Shikhar Dhawan, Bas de Leede
Stay aways: Shimron Hetmyer
GL Picks: Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jason Holder
The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
Right then, the Kings and the Royals playing out another edge-of-the-seat thriller! They have certainly emerged to be one of the fiercest rivals in this tournament! A game full of twists and turns, along with plenty of exciting moments! Well then, that's all from our side. We hope you enjoyed the coverage! Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for all the latest news and live coverage of games from around the globe. Join us back tomorrow for another potentially enthralling contest as the Knight Riders look to get one over the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Eden Gardens. Until then, this is the duo of Maanas Upadhyay and Pratyush Rohra, bidding you adieu! Good night!
Nathan Ellis (Player of the Match): It's one of those days. There are other guys who deserve the awards but stoked to win this one. For me, it's ball by ball. Each ball is a moment. It's more about a ball at a time. T20 cricket has gotten to a point where every ball, every moment counts. When I was bowling in the back-end, I was focusing on getting the ball dry and for me to get my execution right. I was trying to calculate the best ball for me to bowl. For me, it was the cross seam ball and it worked out for me tonight.
Shikhar Dhawan (Punjab Kings captain): Yes absolutely there were some nervous moments. I was keeping my calm and focusing on the best we could do at the moment. There was a lot of dew. I was happy with the score I put up. They bowled very good yorkers and I was very happy we got 180-something. (Best moment in the game) My switch-hits (laughs). We scoring 197 and the bowlers coming in. There were some moments where the game was going out of our hands but the bowlers brought it back. It was a team effort. These two matches, we have gotten a great start. Prabh is playing great and I'm doing my best to increase my strike rate. We have a deep batting line-up and we can keep scoring. The other team has come to play so you need to respect them. They will definitely bowl some good overs too. But you need to keep the intent and aggression going.
Time for the Post Match Presentation!
Sam Curran (Punjab Kings): When it comes to those situations, you have to back yourself. If you plan to go for the yorker, you go for it. Those are the moments you practice for. With the new rule and the batters coming in, you've got to keep doing that. (Chat with the umpire) I thought it was strange when they changed the ball in the first innings. I don't know how that works. They got to change the ball but we didn't. I'm sorry for slowing the play down with the towel bit, but that's what happened. (Prabhsimran) He's been amazing. I was actually with him at Punjab four years ago. The way he is playing alongside Shikhar is amazing. It's a great start to the campaign for him and hopefully, it goes on. I was happy to sit in the dugout, the boys were batting beautifully. All that matters is that we won and that's what we came to do. It's amazingly hard (bowling with the new ball). You try in training to dip balls in water and train with them. It's incredibly hard to hold the seam. It's hard to bowl the yorker cross-seam too. There's no complaining. If the batter keeps getting better, the bowlers have to do the same.
Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals captain): It was a really good track to ba ton, especially in the powerplay. They had a really good powerplay, and that gave them momentum. It is a high-scoring venue here but we did reasonably well to pull them back. (Ashwin opening) Jos was having a stitch on his finger. We knew they had a left-arm spinner and a leg-spinner in the middle, so we wanted a left-hander in the middle order instead of Padikkal opening. (Jurel) He's been with us in the last two seasons. Lots of work has gone behind him. These guys put in lots of work, 5-6 weeks of camp, coming over to the academy and practicing for thousands of balls. (Venue) Was expecting dew to come in the second half but it was there throughout. Normally, we should have high scoring games here and we'll be prepared for the same.
Whew! We've been treated to another humdinger of a contest and it is the Punjab Kings that prevail by a small margin of just 5 runs! Chasing what could be considered as a par target on this track with the dew coming into play, the Royals did not get off to the best of starts, losing a couple of wickets in the power play itself.
Sanju Samson played a stupendous knock which was cut short while Jos Buttler's unlucky dismissal meant that the Royals were in a spot of bother. However, it was their middle order that stepped up when the team needed them the most. Riyan Parag played a blinder at home while Shimron Hetmyer gave the Royals fans hope. Dhruv Jurel was bought in as an impact player and he certainly left his mark in the game.
It was perhaps Padikkal's slow knock that put the Royals in this position. Even if Padikkal had played a run-a-ball innings, the Royals would have won this match! It just was not meant to be for them in the end as the Punjab Kings held their nerve. Nathan Ellis stole the show with the ball in hand, snaring a four-wicket haul while Arshdeep returned with two wickets as well!
For the first time since 2021, the Kings have managed to win two games on the trot! How important will that be for their confidence? All-in-all, the Kings will certainly be pleased with their showing tonight and move upwards in the points table with two wins to their name now. The Royals will be disappointed with the fact that they failed to win a home game but will have plenty of time to recoup and re-strategise ahead of their next.
20
overs
192/7score
1
2
1W
1b
1
4
runs
Dhruv Jurel*
32(15)
Jason Holder
1(1)
Sam Curran
1/44
19.6 Sam Curran to Dhruv Jurel, FOUR! Punjab Kings hold their nerve to win by 5 runs! On the good length at the leg-stump line, Jurel shuffled across and worked it past short fine leg to finish proceedings. Valiant knock from the youngster, who has certainly made an impression.
19.5 Sam Curran to Jason Holder, that should do it for PBKS! Full in the channel outside off and Holder only shuffled across to bunt it down to long-off. Superb from Curran. Can he close it out now?
Two maximums required for the win. What has Holder got for us?
19.4 Sam Curran to Dhruv Jurel, byes. Jurel was attempting the lap sweep as shuffled across but Curran was expecting it. Goes full and wide outside the off-stump, and a fumble from Jurel allows a single
Jason Holder, RHB, walks out to the middle. He will be at the non-striker's end.
Looking for the non-existent second there and Hetmyer has to depart! Quite an unnecessary dismissal that and it leaves the Royals in a tricky situation now!
19.3 Sam Curran to Shimron Hetmyer, HETMYER IS RUN-OUT IN THE SILLIEST OF MANNERS! Curran nails another yorker that was bunted down to long-off. Hetmyer was charging back for the second before being sent back by Jurel, and he basically gave up halfway. Good on him though, making sure he gets his message across to the youngster, asking him to do the job.
12 runs for a Super Over, 13 runs for a win! This is going right down to the wire!
19.2 Sam Curran to Shimron Hetmyer, nails the wide yorker as a low full toss outside off. Carved out towards sweeper cover to hustle back for the second run. A better throw from Ellis might have had Hetmyer in trouble
What's Curran plan here? Full and straight or a wide yorker?
19.1 Sam Curran to Dhruv Jurel, not quite the accurate yorker but Jurel can't get underneath it. Bunted down the ground for a single at long-on. Over to you, Shimron
RR need 16 runs off the final over!
It all happens in the nineteenth! It's a saying that's proven to be true more often than not and it's come true once again tonight! Started with a perfect yorker but what followed was Jurel's onslaught as he took Arshdeep to the cleaners! Pressure on Sam Curran now as he has to defend sixteen off the final. Can the highest-paid player in the history of the IPL deliver when it matters the mot for his team? Let's find out!