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At the post-match presentation, Sanju Samson, captain of the Rajasthan Royals, was dispensing one-liners with the ease of a seasoned comedian, but his smile barely masked the palpable relief. It was the kind of relief one feels after narrowly avoiding a disaster, like finally stopping that annoying alarm after hitting snooze too many times. The game against the Punjab Kings was another installment in their anthology of nail-biters—a tradition that’s almost becoming a ritual in the IPL.
“Each and every game is very close. It is a very funny feeling. It was a very funny game,” Samson remarked, encapsulating the bizarre ebb and flow of a match that, frankly, neither team seemed particularly keen on seizing. By the skin of their teeth and probably by making marginally fewer blunders, Rajasthan clinched the victory on the penultimate ball, chasing a modest 148. Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell were swinging their bats like knights in a fantasy, required to strike at Herculean rates of 270.00 and 220.00 respectively.
This cricketing encounter in Mullanpur, which for the longest while seemed like it would quietly sidestep drama, erupted into life in the dying overs. The Royals had earlier kept the Kings to a paltry 148—the season’s second-lowest first-innings tally—raising hopes of an early night and a boost in their league standing. However, the reality was a grind, requiring them to dig deep, aided somewhat by generous offerings from the Kings’ bowlers.
Commenting on the match, Tom Moody didn’t mince words on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Timeout: “It was a game with a lot of errors and a lot of puzzling decisions both from a team perspective tactically, and also from an individual perspective,” he noted. The match, according to Moody, was largely lackluster, marred by poor quality play that struggled to find any rhythm or direction. “Ninety percent of the game was a struggle to watch because it just didn’t flow, it didn’t sort of have any compass to it.” Then, as if waking from a slumber, the match sprang to life in the final stretch—an unexpected twist to what had been a largely mundane script, sparked by some unconventional decisions in Rajasthan’s batting order and their approach to a not-so-daunting total.
Indeed, it was a game that flitted between the comedic and the chaotic, serving up an ending as dramatic as any IPL fan could hope for, albeit with a quality of cricket that left some purists reaching for the remote.
The Kings seem to be playing a game of cricket akin to a leisurely stroll in the park, at least in the first ten overs of their innings in IPL 2024. With a run rate only slightly peppier than continental drift—at 7.75—they’ve also managed to lose more wickets in this period than any other team, a dubious distinction if there ever was one. To add to their woes, they boast ownership of three of the season’s lowest powerplay scores. Not exactly the stats you want pinned to your locker room wall.
With Shikhar Dhawan sidelined due to a shoulder injury, the Kings turned to Atharva Taide to inject some life at the top of the order. However, Taide’s 15 off 12 balls was hardly the jumpstart the team needed. Jonny Bairstow and Prabhsimran Singh followed suit, with innings that were about as exhilarating as watching paint dry—15 off 19 and 10 off 14, respectively. After this powerplay performance, which could only generously be described as average, the Kings limped to 38 for 1.
One might wonder if it was time to shuffle the deck. Could the Kings have promoted the likes of Liam Livingstone or the in-form Shashank Singh to No. 4, providing the innings the much-needed spark? Instead, they stuck with Sam Curran at No. 4, a decision that might have had fans scratching their heads or throwing their hands up in despair. Since his knock of 47-ball 63 in the opening game, Curran’s form had been as missing as a ghost in daylight. His contribution this time? A paltry 6 off 10 balls, as the Kings’ innings continued to meander aimlessly to 53 for 4 after ten overs.
It seems the Kings’ strategy—or lack thereof—left much to be desired, as they failed to pivot or inject any urgency into their innings. If they continue this way, they might just set records for all the wrong reasons.
In a move that raised more eyebrows than a magician at a science convention, the Rajasthan Royals, faced with Jos Buttler’s absence due to a niggle, opted to open their innings with Tanush Kotian—a bowling allrounder with a batting resume that traditionally doesn’t start until No. 8. Making his IPL debut against the ferocity of Kagiso Rabada and company, Kotian seemed as comfortably placed as a penguin in a desert, scraping together 24 off 31 balls with a strike rate that would hardly set the world alight at 77.41.
Captain Sanju Samson, ever the tactician, explained his gamble on the youngster. “Tanush is a very interesting youngster. He has had a fabulous Ranji Trophy season with Mumbai and has been performing really well,” he noted. Samson’s strategy was rooted in not wanting to disrupt the settled batting order just for a game, given Jos Buttler’s imminent return. Yet, the decision to send Kotian up top was as risky as juggling lit fireworks.
This left some fans pondering a what-if scenario. Why not Dhruv Jurel? Given his limited opportunities in IPL 2024, and with power hitters like Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell already in the lineup, promoting Jurel could have provided a more aggressive start. Jurel, unburdened by the heavy expectations that come with an established batting position, could have been given free rein to attack from the get-go.
In the end, while the move to promote Kotian didn’t completely derail the Royals, it certainly didn’t propel them either. It was a decision teetering on the edge of a tactical cliff, a bold call that will either be hailed as audacious or lamented as misjudged, depending on how the rest of their season unfolds.
Harshal Patel’s season has been less about hitting the mark and more about missing it by a country mile, with an economy rate soaring to 10.54, which balloons even further to a gaudy 15.00 in the death overs. On Saturday, the stage was set for a redemption song, with Harshal taking the ball for the critical 18th over. It began promisingly enough—a wicket and just four runs off his first four deliveries, leaving the Royals needing 30 off the remaining 14 balls. Then, disaster struck as if on cue.
Hetmyer, like a guest spotting his favorite dish at a buffet, gleefully feasted on a back-of-the-length delivery, dispatching it to the deep midwicket boundary for four. Not yet sated, he then gobbled up a length ball on his hips, lofting it over short fine leg for a hearty six. It was as though Harshal had served up the balls on a silver platter, perfectly seasoned for Hetmyer’s powerful strokes. Just like that, the Royals sniffed a path back into the game.
Tom Moody, voicing his bafflement from the commentary booth, didn’t mince words: “The 18th over from Harshal Patel, a couple of his deliveries, for an experienced Indian death bowler was puzzling.” He pointed out the tactical faux pas, particularly the last ball—a perfect setup for Hetmyer to hit out of the park, as if Harshal had asked him where he’d like it served.
Despite this rollercoaster, the Royals will chalk this up as another win, sitting pretty with five out of six and leading the table comfortably. Yet, deep down, they know it was a narrow escape. Their mishaps in the field, their struggles to clamp down during the death overs, and a stuttering performance through the middle could have easily spelled disaster. But, as luck would have it, the Kings were embroiled in their own drama, inadvertently throwing the Royals a lifeline. In the grand tapestry of the IPL, this match was a vivid patchwork of ‘what ifs’ and ‘almosts,’ with the Royals just managing to avoid a complete unravelling.
In the gritty arena of IPL cricket, defending a modest total can often turn into a Herculean task, but Kagiso Rabada, armed with intensity and precision, rose to the occasion. Tasked with the daunting challenge, Rabada opened his account with a brace of powerplay overs that were as miserly as a tightfisted banker, leaking just 12 runs. As the match progressed into the crucial middle overs, his approach shifted from defensive to predatory, as the Kings sought to dismantle the Royals’ batting backbone.
Rabada’s spell was a masterclass in pressure bowling. He first dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal, who succumbed to a deceptively simple short and wide delivery, managing only to toe-edge it to his doom. The cherry on top was the wicket of Royals’ skipper, Samson. In a moment that combined both skill and a dash of fortune, Rabada jagged one back sharply, catching Samson unawares and thumping into the back leg—an appeal that was as fervent as it was successful.
Throughout his spell, Rabada was a model of efficiency and control, conceding a mere two boundaries. His economical and incisive bowling not only showcased his prowess but also underscored the strategic acumen behind his deliveries. With two critical wickets to his name, Rabada not only stemmed the flow of runs but also sent a clear message: on his watch, every run was a battle, every over a war. This performance wasn’t just about the numbers—it was about a bowler holding the line when the stakes were sky-high.
With the scoreboard reading a demanding 35 runs from 20 balls, Shimron Hetmyer walked to the crease, amid a situation that seemed tighter than a new pair of shoes on a long walk. Punjab Kings had set a target that appeared a tad light at 147 for 8 on a pitch that, despite its bounciness, was devoid of any dark magic. The Royals, after a steady but unspectacular start, found themselves in a pickle thanks to Kagiso Rabada’s miserly spell of 18 runs off four overs, complemented by his clutch wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson.
However, as the drama unfolded, Hetmyer decided it was his turn to script the climax. Despite valiant efforts from Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh in the death overs, Hetmyer had reserved his best for the final act. Curran’s penultimate over was a mixed bag, claiming Rovman Powell and Keshav Maharaj but leaking ten crucial runs, setting the stage for a nail-biting finish with ten needed off the last over.
Arshdeep, entrusted with the last over, began with two beautifully executed yorkers, nullifying Hetmyer’s power. The equation then tightened to ten needed from four balls. The third delivery, crucially not a perfect yorker, saw Hetmyer swinging with all his might, the ball barely making it to the boundary cushion for four—a game of inches that tilted in Hetmyer’s favor.
The air was thick with tension as Hetmyer nudged the next ball to long-on for two, bringing the equation down to four required from two. Then came the critical mistake—an errant, juicy delivery from Arshdeep, sitting up right in Hetmyer’s sweet spot. Hetmyer, seizing the moment, shuffled across and launched it over deep fine leg for a magnificent six, sealing the win in a heart-stopping finale.
It was a match that dangled on the edge of a knife, with every ball in the final over thick with possibility. Hetmyer, with nerves of steel and a swing to match, had delivered a masterclass in closing out games, turning what could have been a tense finish into a showcase of his finishing prowess.
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