PBKS vs RR Highlights, IPL 2023, Full Cricket Score: Rajasthan Royals knock Punjab Kings out with four-wicket win

PBKS vs RR summary: Rajasthan Royals kept their hopes of reaching the IPL 2023 playoffs hanging by a thread after beating Punjab Kings (PBKS) by four wickets at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Friday.

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Punjab Kings recovered from a slow start and posted a competitive 187/5 on the board after being invited to bat thanks to the contributions of Sam Curran (49 not out), Jitesh Sharma (44) and Shahrukh Khan (41 not out).

Rajasthan Royals, in reply, made an instant recovery after Jos Buttler’s dismissal for a four-ball duck thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal’s 73-run second-wicket partnership. Both Padikkal and Jaiswal, incidentally, departed right after bringing up their half-centuries, leaving it to the middle-order to guide the team home.

RR remained in the hunt thanks to vital knocks from Shimron Hetmyer (46) and Riyan Parag (20), the former departing off the penultimate delivery of the 19th over. Ultimately it came down to the pair of Dhruv Jurel and Trent Boult to guide the Royals home, with the former hitting the winning six off Rahul Chahar’s bowling.

PBKS vs RR preview: Both Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will desperately be eyeing a victory to ensure their survival in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) when they lock horns at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Friday.

Both RR and PBKS sit on 12 points each with six wins and seven defeats, the same as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and still have a shot at making the playoffs provided other results go their way in what promises to be a cracker of a weekend — the final one before the playoffs are underway in the 16th edition of the world’s biggest T20 league.

Both Punjab and Rajasthan enter Friday’s encounter on the back of defeats in their previous matches. PBKS were beaten by Delhi Capitals (DC) in a high-scoring contest in the first of the two matches alloted to Dharamsala this season, finishing 15 short of the mammoth 213/2 posted by the David Warner-led side despite Liam Livingstone’s fighting 94.

RR suffered an even worse fate, getting bundled out for a lowly 59 by a rampant Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) attack after being set a challenging 172 to win on Sunday in the final match of the season at Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Stadium.

While the loser of today’s match joins DC and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in bowing out of the playoffs race, the winner will go level with RCB and Mumbai Indians (MI) on 14 points, both of whom have a game in hand. The winner of today’s game will then have to ensure both RCB and MI lose their final matches over the weekend for them go to through on the basis on Net Run Rate (NRR).

PBKS vs RR Squads:

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Sikandar Raza, Matthew Short, Rishi Dhawan, Mohit Rathee, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Baltej Singh, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Gurnoor Brar, Shivam Singh

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Joe Root, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Jason Holder, Murugan Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Akash Vasisht, KC Cariappa, Obed McCoy, Riyan Parag, Devdutt Padikkal, Kuldip Yadav, Kuldeep Sen, Donavon Ferreira, Abdul Basith, Kunal Singh Rathore

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