Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered a five-wicket defeat at the hands of Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their IPL 2024 match at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Wednesday (May 15).
It was RR’s fourth consecutive defeat in the ongoing IPL. However, the inaugural champions secure in terms of qualifying for the playoffs, having accumulated 16 points from first nine games.
While the Royals have made it to the playoffs, they might not finish in the top two due to an inferior net run-rate, especially considering that Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) can reach up to 18 points.
After losing to PBKS, RR skipper Sanju Samson said the team needs to introspect what's going wrong for them lately.
"We have to sit back and accept that we are going through failures, have lost four games on the trot. Got to find out what's not working out for us as a team. Somebody needs to step up, we have so many match-winners in the team. This is the time we need to show character. We need to score more runs. We thought 160-170 would have been a good score. We are not used to playing on such wickets this season where 200-plus totals are getting scored easily. We had to play smart cricket and build those partnerships today. Hopefully the result goes in our way (in the upcoming games)," Samson said in the post-match presentation.
Coming to the match, PBKS restricted RR to a below-par 144/9 in 20 overs after being asked to bowl first. Riyan Parag waged a lone battle, scoring 48 off 34 balls for the Royals.
Sam Curran (2-24 in 3 overs), Harshal Patel (2-28 in 4 overs), Nathan Ellis (1-24 in 4 overs), and Rahul Chahar (2-26 in 4 overs) all delivered impactful performances with the ball for PBKS.
Chasing the target, skipper Curran led from the front and returned with an unbeaten 63 off 41 balls to ensure Punjab's victory with seven balls to spare.
"We needed a few more runs. I think we were 10-15 runs short. It was a 160 kind of a wicket. We would have easily got more than 160 (had we played better), that's where we lost the game. Would have been nice to have one more bowling option. I am getting used to five quality bowlers," Samson remarked.
Rajasthan Royals will face Kolkata Knight Riders in their last league match in Guwahati on Sunday (May 19).
