Rajasthan Royals lost to Punjab Kings by five wickets in the Indian Premier League 2024 match at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Riyan Parag top-scored for the Royals with a 34-ball 48 hitting six fours to guide the team to 144/9. But the Kings skipper Sam Curran remained unbeaten on 63 to take his team past the finish line with seven balls to spare. Avesh Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal picked up two wickets each.
Batting first, the Royals skipper Sanju Samson joined debutant Tom Kohler-Cadmore at the centre in the first over and soon completed 500 runs in IPL 2024. But the Royals moved to only 38/1 at the end of powerplay.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Parag put on 50 off 34 balls for the fourth wicket to rebuild the Royals’ innings. Ashwin scored a six and two boundaries in the 12th over to break the shackles before departing for 28 off 19 balls.
Parag helped the Royals to a respectable total before getting dismissed for 48 in the final over, setting the Kings with a target of 145 for a win. Curran, Rahul Chahar and Harshal Patel picked up two wickets each for the Kings.
In response, Trent Boult’s sixth first-over wicket in IPL 2024 and Avesh's double strike in the fifth over reduced the Kings to 39/3 at the end of the powerplay.
With 42 runs needed from the last five overs, Chahal picked up his second wicket of the night, to become the joint-highest wicket-taker for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL alongside Siddarth Trivedi with 65 scalps.
But PBKS skipper Curran anchored the chase to lead them to a second consecutive win in Guwahati after their win here in IPL 2023.
Rajasthan Royals continue to be second in the IPL 2024 points table with 16 points from 13 matches.
The Royals face Kolkata Knight Riders in their last league game at the same venue on May 19.
RR vs PBKS IPL 2024 brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 144/9 (Riyan Parag 48, Ravichandran Ashwin 28, Sam Curran 2/24) lost to Punjab Kings 145/5 (Sam Curran 63*, Avesh Khan 2/28, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/31) by five wickets. Get full RR vs PBKS score here.
