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Punjab Kings (PBKS) beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by five runs in the 8th match of IPL 2023 on Thursday, April 5, at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati.
RR captain Sanju Samson won the toss and asked the opposition side to bat first. On the back of brilliant knocks from Shikhar Dhawan (86*) and Prabhsimran Singh (60), PBKS reached 197/4 in 20 overs. Jason Holder, with two wickets, was the pick of the bowlers for the Royals.
Ravichandran Ashwin (1/25) bowled a wonderful economical spell in a high-scoring innings and also picked up a wicket. Yuzvendra Chahal, who scalped four wickets in the previous game, ended up conceding 50 runs in his four overs along with a lone wicket.
RR then promoted Ashwin to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the chase as Jos Buttler had a minor issue while taking a catch during the fag end of PBKS' first innings.
The move backfired as Ashwin got out for a four-ball duck in the 4th over. Jaiswal began the innings on a positive note with a six but departed soon after.
Sanju Samson (42) and Jos Buttler (19) got starts but could not convert them. Nathan Ellis (4/30) broke the back of their batting line-up by picking up four wickets in the middle overs to derail RR's chase.
Shimron Hetmyer (36) and Dhruv Jurel (32*) played wonderful cameos to keep the Rajasthan Royals in the hunt. Sam Curran maintained his composure in the heavy dew conditions and successfully defended 16 runs in the final over as PBKS won the match narrowly by five runs.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Samson reflected on the loss in the post-match presentation, saying:
"It was a really good track to bat on, 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. [On Ashwin opening] Jos was having a stitch on his finger."
"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."
RR vs PBKS IPL 2023 memes
Fans on social media enjoyed a high-scoring encounter between the Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings. They expressed the same through some creative memes on social media platforms.
Here are some of the best memes related to the game:
