Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
On Saturday, April 5, Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by a convincing margin of 50 runs in the 18th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh. Coming into the match after registering six-run win against Chennai Super Kings, Sanju Samson-led side went past the Punjab challenge, handing the latter their first defeat in the ongoing edition after they claimed back-to-back wins.
For the unversed, Shreyas Iyer, the captain of PBKS won the toss and decided to bowl first. Putting the visitors to post the score first in what was PBKS’ first home match in this edition, on the back of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 45-ball 67 along with crucial knocks from skipper Sanju Samson (38 off 26) and Riyan Parag (43* off 25), RR posted a competitive total of 205/4 in their 20 overs.
Shimron Hetmyer also played a 12-ball 20 along with a five-ball quickfire 13 from Dhruv Jurel. For the hosts, Lockie Ferguson stood out, picking up two wickets, whereas Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen got one each to their name.
RR defend 204 runs to hand PBKS their first defeat in IPL 2025
In pursuit of the 206-run target, PBKS lost Priyansh Arya on a golden duck. The PBKS skipper, Shreyas Iyer, who has looked lethal with the bat, also could not make much of an impact with the bat as he also fell to Jofra Archer’s pace attack, departing having scored 10 off five deliveries. After a top-order collapse, Nehal Wadhera and Glenn Maxwell looked good, stitching a fifty-plus runs stand, but went on back-to-back deliveries.
None of the Punjab batters stepped up thereafter with the RR bowlers restricting the hosts at 155 in 20 overs. The English pacer Jofra Archer starred with the ball, picking three wickets whereas Sandeep Sharma and Maheesh Theekshana got two each. Kumar Kartikeya and Wanindu Hasaranga also got a scalp each, giving RR their second win of the season.
With a 50-run win over the good-looking Punjab side, RR jumped to claim the seventh spot whereas PBKS dropped to the fourth place. The Sanju Samson & Co. will next travel to Ahmedabad to take on Gujarat Titans on Wednesday, April 9 whereas PBKS will host Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday, April 8.
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