IPL 2022, RR vs PBKS, Top Performances: Chahal's 3-28, Jaiswal 68 help RR win by 6 wickets

IPL 2022, RR vs PBKS, Top Performances: Yuzvendra Chahal's 3-28, Yashasvi Jaiswal's 68 off 41 and Jitesh Sharma's 38 off 18 are top three performances from RR vs PBKS.

Jaiswal hits Sandeep Sharma for 29 runs off 15 balls (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Brief Scores: RR 190/4 (Jaiswal 68, Hetmyer 31*, Arshdeep 2-29) beat PBKS 189/5 (Bairstow 56, Jitesh 38*, Chahal 3-28) by six wickets

Player of the Match: Yashasvi Jaiswal (68 runs in 41 balls)

Punjab Kings (PBKS) took on third-ranked Rajasthan Royals (RR), who were coming on the back of successive losses in the last two games, at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon.

Even though since 2018, both teams have won four games each head-to-head; the Royals lead the tally by 13-10.

Punjab captain Mayank Agarwal won the toss and opted to bat first, expecting the track to be slower later in the evening. Although they had retained the same playing eleven from their last game, the Royals had included Yashasvi Jaiswal leaving out Karun Nair from the side.

Rajasthan Royals get back to winning ways

With a boundary on the very first ball of the innings, Punjab flied to a speedy beginning, scoring 46/0 in the first five overs with Jonny Bairstow getting back his old form. The other batters supported him too and kept the run flow going, as Bairstow registered his maiden fifty of IPL 2022 before being dismissed.

Jitesh Sharma, coming ahead of Livingstone, on the back of his 38* off just 18 balls, fired Punjab Kings to 189/5 in their 20 overs. They scored 57 runs in the last four overs.

The RR spinners had 4/60 in their eight overs which proved why Punjab have been the worst side against spin in IPL 2022, scoring at a strike rate of just 107.22 in 11 innings.

Rajasthan Royals got off to a quick start with 46/1 in just four overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal kept the onslaught going even after watching his side losing wickets regularly. He went on to deposit his maiden IPL 2022 fifty to enable RR to take full control of the game. Later, Shimron Hetmyer with his 31* off 16 balls carried RR over the line.

Let’s scan the top three performances of the game between RR and PBKS, IPL 2022:

Chahal pull back Punjab with his 3-28 in middle overs (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Wizard Chahal paralyzed Punjab in the middle overs

Punjab Kings got off to a fabulous start thanks to their openers with 47/0 on the board in just five overs. Even after the opening stand was broken, Bhanuka Rajapaksa was taking on the bowlers with his fierce batting.

But Royals captain Sanju Samson used his trump card Yuzvendra Chahal, who is the purple cap winner of the season till now, with 19 wickets in 10 games before the current fixture.

Chahal, in his second over, disturbed the stumps of Rajapaksa to send him back for 27, before dismissing the opponent captain Mayank Agarwal on 15 who was looking solid in his short stay at the crease. This was the fifth time Chahal had the better of Agarwal, who had scored at a strike rate of 168.3 against the leg spinner.

Two balls later, Chahal, got rid of half-centurion Jonny Bairstow, who might feel himself unlucky given the umpire’s call decision in the LBW. This was the third time Bairstow was undone by Chahal, besides scoring at less than a hundred strike rate.

Chahal finished with figures of 3-28 in his four overs. With 22 wickets, he is now the leading wicket-taker among spinners for RR in a single season. It was also the fourth time (2015, 2016, 2020, 2022) when Chahal has taken 20+ wickets in an IPL season.

Read More: IPL 2022, PBKS vs GT, Top Performances: Rabada's incisive 4-33, Dhawan 62* catapult PBKS to 5th spot

Jitesh Sharma's 38 off 18 helps Punjab set 190 score against RR (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Jitesh Sharma expressive innings carried Punjab to a match-winning total

Even after a rapid start, Punjab Kings seemed to lose the road, losing wickets at regular intervals. When their captain Agarwal and half-centurion Bairstow got back in the hut, they required some serious power-hitting in the back end to take them to a match-winning total.

Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, who had a strike rate of 167.2 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 for Vidarbha, was promoted ahead of dashing Liam Livingstone. Jitesh began his innings positively with two back-to-back boundaries against Prasidh Krishna, before flicking Chahal for a six over the deep mid-wicket region.

He took charge in the last over, with a cracking six over the mid-wicket boundary off Kuldeep Sen, before following it up with two consecutive fours. A total of 16 runs came off the last over, while 57 runs had been collected in the last four overs as Punjab raced away to 189/5.

Jitesh remained undefeated on 38 off just 18 deliveries including four boundaries and two sixes.

Read More: IPL 2022, RR vs KKR, Top Performances: Rana-Rinku 66* partnership, tight bowling help KKR win

Jaiswal raises his bat after scoring fifty in his comeback game (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Yashasvi Jaiswal carnage helped Rajasthan to take control

Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was dropped after a few games in IPL 2022 after being retained, was making his comeback at his home ground.

Chasing 190, he began the innings in a wild mood with two fours and one six in the very first over. His partner, Jos Buttler went back to the hut after a short impactful innings, but Jaiswal made no mistake this evening. He kept the run flow going even after watching his captain being dismissed.

Against Sandeep Sharma, Jaiswal collected 29 runs off 15 balls at a strike rate of 193.3 during the knock. With a single, Jaiswal recorded his second IPL half-century. He celebrated it with three boundaries in one over of Rishi Dhawan. Finally, he got out on 68 off 41 balls thanks to nine fours and two sixes.

His highest score in the IPL helped RR in controlling the game as they went on to win by 6 wickets.

Read More: IPL 2022, MI vs RR Top Performances: Meredith's 2-24 restricts RR to 158; MI register first win

TATA IPL 2022 Points Table

TATA IPL 2022 Points Table: Rajasthan beat Punjab and move to third place

Qualification Scenarios

With this win, Rajasthan Royals go one step closer to the playoffs, while Mumbai Indians become the first team to be eliminated from IPL 2022. Meanwhile, PBKS have made their job harder for qualifying to the playoffs.

What’s to come

The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will lock horns with the Royals Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the afternoon on May 8, while the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai in the evening game.

Here are some of the top twitter reactions from RR vs PBKS game, IPL 2022:

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