🏏 IPL 2024 ~ Match N 27 PBKS vs RR in Mullanpur @7.30 PM IST 🏏 - Page 4

Riyan Parag - The standout star of the season

Riyan Parag turned out to be the standout star of the season. The young Assam batter has redeemed himself after an underwhelming last few seasons and finally repaying the faith of the franchise and the management. The decision to move him to the number 4 spot has also worked well for the Royals as he has smashed 261 runs in 5 matches and is second in the race for the Orange Cap.

Thanks for the tag and I hope to come out of the this andewali phase

Originally posted by: WildestDreams

Stats that matter

• Jonny Bairstow averages 17.33 against Chahal in T20s and has fallen to him three times in seven innings.
• R Ashwin has removed Dhawan four times in 14 T20 innings. Dhawan strikes at only 84.4 against the spinner.
• Arshdeep has dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal twice in 15 balls in T20s. Jaiswal averages just 7.50 against him and strikes at 100.
• Shimron Hetmyer has crashed Sam Curran for 45 runs in 18 balls in T20 cricket, striking at 250.00.
• Jos Buttler strikes at 157.35 against Kagiso Rabada in T20 cricket, while averaging 53.50.

https://x.com/CSKYash_/status/1779065474254614862

Not related to this match

But a IPL Stat

https://x.com/CricCrazyJohns/status/1778831493852541365

Originally posted by: Palak2812

https://x.com/CSKYash_/status/1779065474254614862

I dont know whether to laugh or praise them

These two teams have had quite an eventful past - high-scoring chases, close contests, and a bit of controversy as well. As things stand, the Royals are well placed, but they'd want to get back to winning ways after having suffered their first defeat of the season to the Gujarat Titans, they will look to get their campaign back on track. On the other hand, the Kings came agonizingly close to beating the Sunrisers after another Shashank Singh - Ashutosh Sharma near heist. Can they take the confidence from that game and secure another win at home tonight?

Thanks for tagging me. Managed a perfect 0 yesterday, let's see what happens today

Picks for today:

Toss & win: RR

Most runs: Sanju

Most 4s & 6s:Jaiswal

Most wickets: Boult

POTM: Parag

The streak is over. For 35 overs on Wednesday, it seemed as if the Rajasthan Royals' winning run would continue, only for the Gujarat Titans to snap it in extraordinary fashion. Not panic stations yet for the Royals. No team has more points than them at this stage, and a solitary loss after five games is hardly a crisis.

But the Royals will be quietly aware of what happened last season. They had four wins in their first five matches, and then stumbled their way to a fifth-place finish. Tonight, thus, is the perfect opportunity for them to illustrate how much they have learnt from 2023.

Like the Royals, the Punjab Kings were denied at the death in a home game. Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh almost mounted a daring heist but fell short by two runs. A defeat of that ilk would have stung. That they came so close, despite seemingly being out of it at one stage, could help fuel their charge for tonight, though.

So, here we are: in Mullanpur for the latest instalment of arguably the most keenly-contested IPL rivalry in the past few years. Both of these sides have been around since it all began in 2008, and have played out some enthralling encounters (more on that in a bit).

Tonight should be no different. An RR win and the defeat to GT might be cast aside as an aberration. A Punjab victory, and there will be renewed belief that this is their year, while making the Royals revisit a past sequence they're longing want to forget.

Only two matches so far at this venue and we are playing on pitch number 4 today. 75m straight boundary, while the square boundaries are at 64m and 67m respectively. There is a tinge of green grass, 100% black soil, so water retention is higher. Some seam movement for the seamers who should dominate here. You'll need to bowl in that good length and the line should be around off or just outside off. There is a little bit of dew factor, so you would want to bowl first, but you can win by batting first as well. 180 should be a par score on this wicket, reckons Daren Ganga, in his pitch report

Coming into the game and the camp we had before the season started, the takeaway was that length ball was the hardest to hit here. There is a bit of bounce, so you can't simply hit across the line. So the chat has been to bowl hard lengths at this venue. The game is changing, the addition of impact sub is allowing batting depth to 7,8 and even 9. It means you're not bowling to a tailender any longer even if you take wickets regularly, it does make a huge difference when there are two proper batters batting at 7 and 8. The batters upfront are not afraid of playing their shots and that's the reason you've high scores this season. Bowling in the death hasn't been easy for anyone, for me, the important thing is to assess the condition and pick wickets in the middle overs, it allows things to become slightly easier going into the death overs. It's about sequencing for me, every bowler bowling in the death overs has the skills, but you'll have to back your type of bowling in the death overs and that's where our focus is always.