IPL returns to action with Punjab edging Rajasthan
JAIPUR, India: Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai marked the restart of the Indian Premier League with a fine all-round contribution as Punjab Kings closed in on a play-off spot with a 10-run win over Rajasthan Royals on Sunday. It was the first completed match since the resumption of the T20 tournament which had been paused because of an India-Pakistan conflict.
Saturday's scheduled return ended in a washout with the game between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders abandoned without a ball being bowled.
The weather was more clement in Jaipur as Punjab posted 219-5 when they elected to bat first in high-scoring match.
Left-handed Nehal Wadhera top-scored with 70 off 37 balls before Shashank Singh made the team finish strong with his unbeaten 59.
Omarzai boosted the total with his unbeaten nine-ball 21 before he returned with two key wickets to restrict Rajasthan to 209-7.
Punjab are second in the 10-team table topped by Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Both teams are on 17 points in 12 matches.
Impact substitute Harpreet Brar stood out with figures of 3-22 with his left-arm spin and South African left-arm quick Marco Jansen took two wickets in the final over when Rajasthan needed 22 for a win.
Explosive opening knocks by Yashasvi Jaiswal and 14-year-old Suryavanshi Vaibhav Suryavanshi went in vain after the two left-handers fired Rajasthan to 89-1 in the first six overs.
Jaiswal hit a 25-ball 50 and Suryavanshi made 40 off 15 balls.
Suryavanshi, who hit an IPL century in 35 balls last month to shatter records, hammered the opposition bowlers for four fours and four sixes.
Punjab introduced spin in the fifth over and Brar dismissed both openers in quick succession, Suryavanshi chipping a leading edge to mid-off and Jaiswal, just after he had passed 50, failing to clear Mitch Owen at long-off. The chase took another hit when skipper Sanju Samson fell for 20 off pace bowler Omarzai, who later removed the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer for 11.
Dhruv Jurel made a valiant 53 off 31 deliveries but fell to Jansen in the final over as he failed to meet the increasing asking rate.
Earlier Punjab's top three fell cheaply as Australian batsman Owen's IPL debut ended with a two-ball duck and Punjab slumped to 34-3.
The mercury in the afternoon soared above 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 degrees Fahrenheit) when Wadhera steadied the innings and hit back with his attacking play as he put on 67 with skipper Shreyas Iyer, who made 30.
Iyer fell but Wadhera kept up the charge with Shashank, who hit five fours and three sixes in his 30-ball knock.
Wadhera departed in the 16th over but Shashank and Omarzai added 60 off 24 balls.
Since the pause in the IPL, the tournament has been rescheduled with the final now set to take place on June 3. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times of Oman
12 hours ago
- Times of Oman
India: Four arrested for deadly cricket stampede
Police in Bengaluru, India's tech capital, arrested four individuals early Friday for the roles in a deadly fan crush that occurred on Wednesday while the local cricket team Royal Challengers Bengaluru was celebrating its T20 Indian Premier League (IPL) championship victory. The team offered free tickets to a trophy celebration at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, saying the number of tickets would be limited. Officials say the stadium has a capacity of 35,000 people, "but 200,000-300,000 people came." In the end, 11 people were killed and 47 injured as fans without tickets attempted to push their way into the venue in what Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called an "absolutely heartrending" incident. State officials on Friday announced that "legal action has been taken against the representatives of the RCB" as well as the event organizers and the state cricket association. Local media have reported that the four face charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, among others. Officials suggested that senior police may also be subject to punishment for their roles as well. Wealthy Indian Premier League cricket cutting corners on fan safety? The IPL is the world's richest cricket league, with media widely reporting that RCB's T20 victory had secured it a $2.3 million (€2 million) match bonus. RCB has called the event "unfortunate" and offered $11,655 each to the families of victims, most of whom were men between the ages of 14-49. Indian Premier League ranks among the world's wealthiest in cost-per-match terms since selling a five-year global broadcast right package for $6.2 billion in 2022. This has led many in India to demand the league be more forthcoming about Wednesday's tragedy. The Indian Express newspaper this week wrote: "The world's richest cricket tournament can't cut corners when it comes to fans' safety. A fitting tribute to those dead, therefore, is not mere signing a cheque but holding those in charge responsible."
Times of Oman
3 days ago
- Times of Oman
RCB create history, end 18-year wait for IPL trophy as PBKS fall short in pulsating final
Ahmedabad: Finally, after 18 years, it is party time for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as a brilliant spell from Krunal Pandya and solid pace bowling from trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal brought them their first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) title with a six-run win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday. The wait for the title continues for PBKS, who reached their first final in 11 years under the exceptional leadership of Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting. However, after 18 overs, skipper Rajat Patidar has lifted the title for RCB, with their superstar batter Virat Kohli getting his first-ever IPL trophy after 18 years with the team. Shashank's brilliance (61* in 30 balls, with three fours and six sixes) proved inadequate for PBKS as the flush of shots came too late for the team. Shashank hit three sixes in the final over, not giving up the fight till the last. Chasing a challenging 191, PBKS started off well with the opening pair of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh taking down Bhuvneshwar Kumar with a four and six, taking 13 runs in over one. Priyansh tried to dominate Josh Hazlewood with two fours, but a stunning catch from Phil Salt near the ropes took Priyansh back to the pavillion for 24 in 19 balls, with four boundaries. PBKS was 43/1 in five overs. At the end of six overs, PBKS was 52/1, with Prabhsimran (15*) and Josh Inglis (8*) unbeaten. Prabhsimran was playing plenty of dot balls, but liberated himself with a six against Suyash Sharma, who ended his first over, conceding a total of 15 runs, including a six each from the duo. Krunal, who had conceded just three in his opening over, continued to put pressure, and finally it was Prabhsimran (26 in 22 balls, with two sixes) who became its victim, giving an easy catch to Bhuvneshwar Kumar at covers. PBKS was 72/2 in 8.3 overs. Romario Shepherd got the crucial wicket of Shreyas Iyer, the skipper for just one. PBKS was 79/3 in 9.4 overs. At the halfway mark, PBKS was 81/3, with Inglis (24*) and Nehal Wadhera (1*) unbeaten. Spin continued to create pressure on PBKS, while Romario conceded 10 runs in the 12th over, with Inglis doing heavy lifting. Krunal's pressure-building ways bite PBKS really hard as they lost Inglis for 39 in 23 balls, with a four and four sixes on the first ball of the 13th over. PBKS was 98/4 in 12.1 overs. The 15th over by Romario relieved some pressure for PBKS as Nehal and Shashank Singh hit a four and six each, getting 14 runs in total, taking the score ot 119. PBKS needed 72 in 30 balls. The next over by Hazlewood saw Shashank hitting two sixes, bringing down the equation to 55 in 24 balls. Bhuvneshwar's third over brought a crucial wicket of Wadhera, who struggled in his 15 runs in 16 balls, with just a six. Krunal was the hero, this time as a fielder. PBKS was 136/5 in 16.2 overs. Though Marcus Stoinis came out swinging with a six, he perished on the next ball with a easy catch to Yash. PBKS was 142/6 in 16.4 overs, they were left needing 47 in the final three overs. Azmatullah Omarzai (1) could not trouble the scorekeepers much as he gave away his wicket to Yash for just one. PBKS was 145/7 in 17.2 overs. They were left with 42 to chase in the final two overs, with Shashank and Kyle Jamieson on the crease. Bhuvneshwar came down to deliver the penultimate over, eating a six from Shashank on ball one. However, the equation came down to 29 runs in the final over. Despite a sensational effort from Shashank (61* in 30 balls, with three fours and six sixes), which had three sixes and a four, RCB won by six runs, with PBKS finishing at 184/7. Krunal (2/17) and Bhuvneshwar (2/38) delivered top-class four-over spells. Yash was fantastic with his three over spell of 1/18. Hazlewood ended a 1/54 spell on expensive note, but was brilliant nonetheless. Romario also got a wicket. Earlier, a valiant effort from Royal Challengers Bengaluru set a fighting 191-run target for Punjab Kings in the title clash of the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Counter-attacking knocks from Jitesh Sharma (24 from 10 deliveries) and Virat Kohli (43 from 35 balls) powered RCB to 190/9. Still, Arshdeep Singh (3/40) and Kyle Jamieson's (3/48) searing three-wicket hauls denied Bengaluru a 200-run mark. After being put to bat by Punjab, Arshdeep deployed short-length approach ploy, and Phil Salt embraced the opportunity with both hands in the opening over. He hammered the ball over the long leg and sent the ball sailing over the boundary rope for a maximum. On the fifth delivery, Salt swivelled the ball across the line, and the ball marginally fell short of the rope and bounced away for a four. With Salt coming in and all guns blazing, Bengaluru ended with 13 runs in the opening over. With runs flowing swiftly, Salt (16) took the aerial route in the next over against Kyle Jamieson but couldn't get the desired distance. Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer safely held the ball in his hands to draw the first retaliated with a couple of boundaries and finished the powerplay with 55/1 on the board. Right after the powerplay, Mayank Agarwal (24) tried to take on Punjab's premier spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal, but swung his bat a fraction too early. The ball soared high and lobbed down to Arshdeep in the deep. Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar, the former and current captains, tried to form a partnership to see off the middle overs and set the stage for the climax. Virat anchored the innings while Patidar took the brunt of taking risks on his shoulders. He succeeded a couple of times in his venture, but Jamieson trapped Patidar in front of the stumps in the 11th over. Patidar had shuffled across the crease to make room for a shot but missed the ball completely. He knew taking a review would be futile and returned on 26(16). Liam Livingstone joined Virat at the crease, and the duo spun Chahal inside out to take 14 runs from the over. However, the momentum swung in Punjab's favour after Virat's top edge landed straight back into Azmatullah Omarzai's hands, forcing the franchise icon to return on 43(35). Jitesh Sharma notched back-to-back sixes off Jamieson to turn up the much-needed run flow in the 17th over. Jamieson struck back to pin Livingstone (25) in front of the stumps to take the momentum back from Bengaluru. Romario Shepherd survived after substitute Praveen Dubey dropped his mistimed slog. Vijaykumar Vyshak cleaned up Jitesh Sharma to pull the curtains down on his 24-run blitzkrieg from 10 deliveries. Shepherd reeled off a four and a towering maximum in the last two deliveries of the penultimate over. Shepherd tried to take on Arshdeep but got pinned in front of the stumps, courtesy of the left-armer's searing yorker. Krunal Pandya followed Shepherd's footsteps after he holed it straight to Shreyas. Arshdeep capped off the innings with Bhuvneshwar Kumar's scalp as Bengaluru settled for 190/9.
Observer
4 days ago
- Observer
Punjab past Mumbai to book IPL final with Bengaluru
AHMEDABAD: Punjab Kings batter Shreyas Iyer played a captain's knock as the Indian Premier League (IPL) table toppers beat Mumbai Indians by five wickets in the second qualifier on Sunday to set up a tantalising final with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Punjab had won the toss and opted to field before the rain came down and delayed the start of the game by more than two hours. But they did not lose any overs, with the match eventually finishing at well past 1:30 a.m. Chasing a target of 204 for victory, Iyer smashed an unbeaten 87 off 41 balls with eight clean sixes as Punjab returned to the final for the first time in 11 years. The result means Tuesday's final at the same venue will crown a new IPL champion, with Bengaluru also falling short in the summit clash in 2009, 2011 and 2016. Punjab lost to Bengaluru in the first playoff match on Thursday, but they will now have another shot at winning their maiden trophy. "I love big occasions. I always tell my team, the bigger the occasion, the calmer you are," said Iyer, who captained Kolkata to the title last year before moving to Punjab. "We shouldn't think about where we went wrong (against Bengaluru) because throughout the season we've been playing amazing... One match cannot define us as a team." GOOD START Punjab had a good start when Rohit Sharma fell cheaply in the third over but Jonny Bairstow (38) and Tilak Varma (44) went after the bowling before Suryakumar Yadav smashed three sixes and four boundaries in his quick-fire knock of 44. A mammoth total looked on the cards but Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Suryakumar while Azmatullah Omarzai picked up two wickets, including skipper Hardik Pandya, to restrict Mumbai to 203-6. In response, Punjab scored 64 runs in the powerplay with Josh Inglis (38) leading the charge before Iyer and Nehal Wadhera stitched together an 84-run partnership for the fourth wicket to frustrate Mumbai. While Iyer effortlessly accelerated the run rate with three consecutive sixes in an expensive Reece Topley over, Wadhera rode his luck with some loose shots that found the boundary to put the pressure back on Mumbai. Wadhera fell for 48 but Iyer notched up his half-century in 27 balls before denying Jasprit Bumrah a wicket with a fine boundary off a yorker. Iyer then welcomed Ashwani Kumar back into the attack with a high and handsome six before clearing the ropes three more times as the 19th over went for 26 runs and Punjab won the game with an over to spare. "The way he batted, he took his chances. Some of the shots he played were really outstanding," a bitterly disappointed Hardik said. — AFP
