Shikhar Dhawan shines as Punjab Kings Beat Rajasthan Royals by 5 runs

Tata IPL 2023 has taken off on a promising start as we have already witnessed multiple high-scoring games, with the latest contest between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals adding itself to the list. Punjab Kings amassed 197 runs in the first innings on the back of skipper Shikhar Dhawan and Prabhasimran Singh’s blistering opening partnership. Dhawan led from the front by scoring an unbeaten 86 runs in 56 balls, hitting 9 fours and 3 sixes. On the other hand, Prabhasimran also put up a strong 60 runs off 34 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes before being dismissed by Jason Holder. 

However, their middle order put up a mediocre performance with only Jiten Sharma pushing up the scorecard with 27 runs to his name. The second innings brought a shaky start for Rajasthan Royals as Arshdeep Singh got Ravichandra Ashwin and Yashasvi Jaiswal out early, followed soon by Jos Butler as well. Nevertheless, their middle order put up a valiant fight as captain Sanju Samson scoring an above par 42 off 25, whereas Shimron Hetmeyer and Dhruv Jurel scoring 36 and 32 respectively. Nathan Ellis eventually came to the rescue ran through the entire middle order and picked up four wickets.  

In the end, Rajasthan fell short of just six runs as the match came to a thrilling finish with Nathan Ellis being awarded the player of the match. With this win, Punjab has replaced Rajasthan Royals in the second spot of the points table even as captain Shikhar Dhawan races for the Orange Cap at the third rank. The next match will be played between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Banglore.