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Punjab Kings 145 for 5 (Curran 63*, Avesh 2-28, Chahal 2-31) beat Rajasthan Royals 144 for 9 (Parag 48, Ashwin 28, Curran 2-24, Chahar 2-26, Harshal 2-28) by five wickets
Despite qualifying for playoffs, Rajasthan Royals continued a downward spiral in momentum as a fine bowling performance by Punjab Kings and a fighting half-century by skipper Sam Curran handed them a five-wicket loss at Guwahati on Wednesday in their Indian Premier League match.
RR have lost their fourth match in a row and are second with eight wins and five losses, giving them 16 points. PBKS is in ninth spot with five wins, eight losses and 10 points.
In the run-chase of 145 runs, Punjab Kings had a poor start as they lost Prabhsimran Singh for just six runs in four balls, with a top edge of his bat landing into the hands of Yuzvendra Chahal at short third man. Trent Boult got his first wicket.
Riley Rossouw came to the crease and along with Jonny Bairstow, unleashed a brief attack on pacers.
However, Rossouw sliced a delivery by Avesh Khan straight into the hands of Yashasvi Jaiswal at backward point, dismissed for 22 in 13 balls, with five fours. Two balls later, Avesh Khan trapped Shashank Singh's leg-before-wicket for a duck.
Chahal got his first wicket, removing a struggling Bairstow for just 14 in 22 balls, consisting of a four.
Skipper Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma joined forces and built the innings run-by-run following these early wickets.
The 63-run partnership between the duo was over when a lofted shot from Jitesh landed into the hands of Riyan, giving Chahal his second wicket. Jitesh was gone for 22 in 20 balls, with two fours.
Curran continued his fightback, reaching his second fifty in the tournament in 38 balls, with five fours and a six.
PBKS ended their run chase at 145/5 in 18.5 overs, with Curran (63* in 41 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Ashutosh Sharma (17* in 11 balls, with a four and six) unbeaten.
Avesh Khan (2/28) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/31) were among the top bowlers for RR.
Earlier, Sam Curran and Rahul Chahar helped Punjab Kings (PBKS) to restrict Rajasthan Royals (RR) at 144/9.
Riyan Parag was the only standout batter for Rajasthan Royals after he scored the highest runs among his teammates in Guwahati.
After winning the toss, Rajasthan Royals decided to bat first in Guwahati, however, they did not get the start they wanted after Punjab Kings bowlers restricted the hosts' run rate.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (4 runs from 4 balls, 1 four) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (18 runs from 23 balls, 2 fours and 1 six) opened for the Rajasthan-based franchise.
After the first dismissal, Kohler-Cadmore and Sanju Samson (18 runs from 15 balls, 3 fours) tried to build a partnership. But the RR skipper was removed by Nathan Ellis in the 7th over.
After the end of the powerplay, the Royals scored just 38 runs and lost one wicket.
Kohler-Cadmore struggled to get going in the game and Rahul Chahar was successful in dismissing him in the 8th over.
After failing to hit boundaries, Ravichandran Ashwin (28 runs from 19 balls, 3 fours and 1 six) came as a rescue in the 12th over after he slammed 2 fours and 1 six against Chahar.
Arshdeep Singh removed Ashwin to get an upper hand on the match. RR failed to maintain momentum in the game, as in the 14th over, Sam Curran removed Dhruv Jurel for a golden duck.
Rahul Chahar, Sam Curran, and Harshal Patel led the Punjab bowling attack as the two bowlers picked up two wickets in their respective spells.
