Who said what - top 3 expert reactions to Sam Curran's all-round show vs RR in IPL 2024 ft. Lisa Sthalekar

Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) were involved in yet another exciting clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, and the former successfully managed to make it 1-1 after losing their previous encounter earlier this season. It was Sam Curran who stood out in Punjab’s five-wicket win over Rajasthan.

Leading the side in Shikhar Dhawan’s absence, Curran put up an all-round show at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati and grabbed the spotlight. While he registered figures of 2/24 in the first innings with the ball, his 63*(41) in the chase stole the show as PBKS clinched a victory.

On that note, let’s look at some of the top expert reactions to Sam Curran’s match-winning performance.

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#1 Aakash Chopra

The former India cricketer reserved high praise for the English all-rounder. With the mega-auction scheduled ahead of the 2025 edition of the IPL, Chopra believes that Curran's performance was crucial for him to fetch big bucks again if he goes under the hammer.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said:

“Sam Curran played a captain's knock. It was a Player of the Match performance from Sam Curran. It was his last match of this season. He is leaving after this. However, while leaving, he left behind an innings and wickets so that you remember him in next year's big auction. It will be all money when the auction happens. For that, you need to put in some good performances, and performances right at the end matter a little more because they remain in your mind.”

Notably, Sam Curran has now left the IPL camp to join his national side to prepare for the all-important T20 World Cup 2024.

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#2 Lisa Sthalekar

Former Australian cricketer Lisa Sthalekar, in a conversation with Cricbuzz, lauded Curran’s communication skills during the chase. She felt that the all-rounder read the situation well and lauded his performance, especially with the bat.

She said:

“He assessed the situation exceptionally well. They (PBKS) weren’t in the ideal situation when they lost four wickets. 140 is probably 20 runs short but their bowlers can get them out of this and you (RR) thought that within the first four wickets. But then that partnership, and it was mainly Sam Curran. You could tell that he was communicating with his partners, each one that came in and he was taking on the main role. [He thought] ‘Okay, I need to pick which bowl I want to put or who I’m going to target’, and he was able to do that.”

Curran dominated in both the big partnerships that he stitched, the 63-run stand with Jitesh Sharma and the unbeaten 34-run stand with Ashutosh Sharma.

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#3 Mitchell McClenaghan

Former New Zealand international Mitchell McClenaghan was impressed with Curran’s gameplay. He said the England cricketer “paced his innings beautifully” while speaking about the latter’s performance with the bat.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo’s Timeout, he said:

“It was a massive knock, wasn't it. It really was. He played beautifully and what I did like was the partnership between him and Jitesh. Sam was superb. I thought he paced his innings beautifully and nicely. He played high-calculated shots in terms of low-risk percentage. He played pockets of the ground and just the way he paced his innings was beautiful.”

Sam Curran won't be available for PBKS' final game of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday, May 19.