IPL 2021: RR vs PBKS Review – Samson’s epic 119 goes in vain as Punjab win thriller

In a nail-biting thriller at the Wankhede Stadium, Punjab Kings held their nerves against Rajasthan Royals as Sanju Samson was denied a fairytale start to his IPL captaincy stint. After a high-scoring match, Rajasthan fell just four runs short of Punjab’s total. Unlike last year, Punjab were successful in defending a total over 200 runs against Rajasthan.

Having sent out to bat first on a flat pitch, Punjab lost the early wicket of Mayank Agarwal. But Chris Gayle along with KL Rahul kept the run rate quite high. After Gayle fell for 40 off 28 balls, Deepak Hooda walked in at no.4 and launched a brutal assault on the Rajasthan bowlers. He was well supported by Punjab captain KL Rahul, who ended with a magnificent 91 off 50 balls.

Hooda, on the other hand, notched up the fastest fifty of this season, off just 20 balls. He ended with 64 runs from 28 balls. All of these efforts helped Punjab post a grand total of 221 for 6. Rajasthan, during their got off to a horrible start, losing Ben Stokes and Manan Vohra. Beyond that, there were three players who crossed 20 but couldn’t get a big score.

Captaining the Royals for the first time, Sanju Samson did his best for his team in the match. He produced one of the best knocks. His knock ended off the final ball of innings when he got out for 119 from just 63 balls. Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the Punjab bowlers, having finished with a spell of 3 for 35. The youngster also bowled the last over, successfully defending 13 runs.

Turning Points:

Hooda-Rahul partnership: When Hooda arrived at the crease, the score was 89 for 2 in 9.5 overs. After this, Hooda’s brutal hitting not only helped Punjab to cross 200, but also take the score well beyond that. In just 46 balls, the partnership yielded 105 runs. The acceleration which their partnership provided turned out to be vital, given the end result.

Last game of #IPL2020 – 5️⃣0️⃣* vs CSK
First game of #IPL2021 – 5️⃣0️⃣* vs RR

Hurricane Hooda continuing from where he left off ?️#SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #RRvPBKS pic.twitter.com/v2Y73Q2yvc

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 12, 2021

Sanju Samson: You know it’s a special effort with the bat when there is a gap of 94 runs between the highest scorer and the second-highest of a team’s performance. That is exactly what happened with Samson. He played a gem of a knock fighting till the end and at times even created a situation where Rajasthan were the favourites.

Arshdeep’s spell: The left-arm pacer has improved massively through the IPL. After delivering some good performances in the previous season, he started the 2021 season with an absolute bang. On a day where most bowlers went for runs, he only gave away 35 runs and picked up three crucial wickets. Most importantly, he bowled the last over, under pressure and gave away only eight runs.

Personal records/Achievements:

Sanju Samson became the first player to hit IPL hundred on his captaincy debut.

KL Rahul completed 2000 runs for the Punjab franchise in IPL.

Way ahead

 Punjab will face Chennai in their next match on April 16 while Rajasthan will play Delhi on April 15.