Punjab managed to hold the nerve, in the end, to grab two points against Rajasthan despite a one-man show from Sanju Samson. It was a pure batting show in Wankhede and KL Rahul's troops won it by 4 runs.
Toss: Rajasthan opted to field first
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Detailed Match Report
First Innings (Punjab 221/6)
Chetan Sakariya made his Indian T20 League debut and picked his maiden wicket after dismissing Mayank Agrawal. Chris Gayle joined KL Rahul and Punjab constructed a good partnership. At the halfway mark of the innings, Rajasthan picked Chris Gayle’s wicket after his 28-ball 40. Samson looked clueless in middle-overs and his poor captaincy offered Punjab to get the early acceleration. Deepak Hooda came out of the syllabus and he justified his promotion with quickfire. He smashed a 20-ball fifty, the quickest of this season. KL Rahul completed his 2000 runs for Punjab and he can surpass Shaun Marsh this season to become the all-time top-scorer of this franchise.
Hooda and KL Rahul’s partnership took the game away from Rajasthan. KL Rahul also completed his half-century but Hooda was more dangerous. He smashed 6 sixes during his knock of 64 off just 28 balls. The duo added 105 runs off just 47 balls for the 3rd wicket and posted 221 on board. Debutant Chetan Sakariya picked three for 31 and Chris Morris picked two for 41. Samson tried eight bowlers which signifies Rajasthan’s poor tactics in the field.
Second Innings (Rajasthan 217/7)
Rajasthan’s chase started with a 3-ball duck to Stokes and they also lost Vohra on 12. Buttler joined captain Samson and he ended the powerplay on a high note with four consecutive boundaries from Riley Meredith’s over. Richardson got Buttler on 25 and Punjab looked solid in the game. Shivam Dube joined Sanju Samson and the duo added 53 runs for the 4th wicket. Samson completed his half-century.
Riyan Parag offered fire in middle with 11-ball 25 and Rajasthan kept themselves in the hunt. Shami provided the breakthrough with the wicket of Parag. Samson continued his fire and scored his third Indian T20 League century and become the first player to score a hundred on captaincy debut. Meredith got Tewatia early to avoid any damage but Samson's fire took the game into final over. Arshdeep bowled a tight over in the end to script a thrilling win for Punjab.
Star Performer of the Match
Sanju Samson is our star performer of the match. The skipper scored a memorable hundred for his side and almost won the match for Rajasthan. He scored his third Indian T20 League hundred and during this knock, smashed 12 fours and 7 sixes.
5 impactful players of the match
Sanju Samson 119 (63)
KL Rahul 91 (50)
Deepak Hooda 64 (28)
Chetan Sakariya 31/3
Arshdeep Singh 35/3
