Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) faced each other in the fourth game of IPL 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday (April 12).
Invited to bat first, PBKS piled up a massive 221/6 in 20 overs on the back of skipper KL Rahul’s 50-ball 91. Deepak Hooda (64 off 28 balls) and Chris Gayle (40 off 28 balls) also made significant contributions with the willow.
Amid the carnage, left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya returned with impressive figures of 3/31 in his four overs.
In reply, RR agonisingly fell 4 runs short of the target. The chase was single-handedly carried by skipper Sanju Samson, who smashed his third IPL century but couldn’t take his team over the line.
Batting at No. 3, Samson took the Punjab attack to the cleaners despite not getting able support from the other end. Thanks to his ton, Royals needed 13 runs off the final over. While Samson hit the fourth delivery for a maximum, he got out on the last ball for 63-ball 119, including 12 fours and 7 sixes.
Arshdeep Singh, who delivered the final over, was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS, claiming 3 wickets by conceding 35 runs in his four overs. Veteran pacer Mohammad Shami (2-33) also chipped in with a couple of scalps.
Cricket fraternity lauded Sanju Samson for his whirlwind century which almost ensured a win for Rajasthan Royals in their IPL 2021 opener.
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