IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals edge out Punjab in final-ball thriller
Rajasthan Royals edged out Punjab Kings in a final-over finish in the IPL 2021. A phenomenal opening partnership between KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal put Punjab in a comfortable position for a win. However, Rajasthan managed to defend four runs in the final over. Earlier, Arshdeep Singh hogged the limelight by taking his maiden five-wicket haul in the IPL. Here are the records broken.
How did the match pan out?
Evin Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal started well for RR. However, they lost the momentum after the dismissal of Lewis. Mahipal Lomror played a blinder (43 off 17) to keep Rajasthan afloat. RR were bundled out for 185 as Arshdeep Singh took a five-wicket haul. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal shared a century stand in Punjab's run-chase. However, Punjab fell short by two runs eventually.
Kartik Tyagi nails the final over!
Punjab were eyeing a comfortable win before the final over. They required just four runs to get home. However, Kartik Tyagi was right on the money, having delivered a spate of yorkers. He dismissed Pooran and Deepak Hooda in the over. Punjab needed three to win off the final ball. Tyagi bowled another outstanding yorker to deny Punjab the runs.
Jaiswal smashed a scintillating 49
Jaiswal was on song against the PBKS bowlers. He smashed a scintillating 49 (36) with the help of 6 fours and 2 sixes. Jaiswal could have slammed his maiden half-century in the IPL. This was his 12th T20 innings and seventh in the cash-rich league. Interestingly, he has faced at least 25 balls in an innings for the third time in his career.
Adil Rashid makes his IPL debut
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid made his IPL debut today. He had played 201 T20 matches before receiving his maiden cap for Punjab (the third-most T20s at the time of IPL debut). His England team-mate Dawid Malan tops this tally with 227 T20s.
Third-youngest to take an IPL five-for
Rajasthan were cruising at 116/3 in the first innings. At that stage, fast bowler Arshdeep uprooted the dangerous Liam Livingstone. Punjab suffered a batting collapse thereafter. The young speedster went on to complete his maiden five-wicket haul in the IPL (5/32). He became the third-youngest player to take a five-for in the tournament (22 years, 228 days).
A look at the feats attained by Arshdeep
Arshdeep has registered the fourth-best figures by an uncapped Indian player in the IPL. Ankit Rajpoot (5/14 vs SRH), Varun Chakravarthy (5/20 vs DC), and Harshal Patel (5/27 v MI) are the other three players. Interestingly, Punjab coach Anil Kumble is the only other player besides Arshdeep to take a five-for against Rajasthan. The former picked up 5/5 against them in 2009.
Rahul completes 3,000 IPL runs
Punjab skipper Rahul set up an ideal platform for Punjab in the run-chase. He smashed 49 off 33 balls after getting dropped thrice by the RR fielders. During the innings, Rahul completed 3,000 runs in the IPL. He became the second-fastest to this milestone (80 innings). Notably, Chris Gayle has taken the fewest innings (75) to complete 3,000 IPL runs.
2,000 IPL runs for Mayank
Unlike Rahul, Mayank was watchful at the start. He dealt in singles while building the innings. However, he broke the shackles soon and started his counter-attack. He was on 15 off 18 balls at the end of powerplay and raced to his fifty in mere 34 balls. During the innings, Mayank completed 2,000 runs in the IPL.
